At the recent 2024 TravelDaily Conference in Shanghai, Jackey Yu, Partner at McKinsey & Company, shared insights into changing consumer behavior in the global tourism market.
The tourism industry is experiencing steady growth, with leisure travel surpassing pre-pandemic levels, while demand for business travel continues to be affected by the long-term impact of remote work.
In his keynote, Mr. Yu categorized travelers into three segments: business, visiting friends and relatives (VFR), and leisure, and highlighted some interesting trends:
* VFR and leisure travel have not only fully recovered but even exceeded 2019 levels.
* Business travel, while on a gradual recovery path, has only reached about 80%-85% of pre-pandemic levels.
The global tourism market is becoming increasingly diverse, with emerging markets gaining prominence as new source markets, according to Mr. Yu.
Data from 2023 and 2024 indicated that the fastest-growing regions are no longer the traditional markets like Europe and the U.S., but rather emerging regions such as Eastern Europe, India, and Southeast Asia. These areas have seen a rapid increase in traveler numbers and spending. For example, in Eastern Europe, more than 70% of consumers expressed a desire to take an outbound leisure trip within the next 12 months.
India is rapidly developing as a new source market, but it still lags behind China in terms of volume. McKinsey estimates that by 2040, the number of outbound tourists from India will reach 90 million. While this remains below China’s 160 million outbound tourists in 2019, India has already secured a leading position among global source markets.
Content and social media are becoming increasingly important in the tourism industry.
This shift is not exclusive to China but is part of a broader global trend.
More travelers now prefer to book trips on their own, viewing the process of planning and researching as an enjoyable part of the travel experience.
McKinsey’s survey of nearly 10,000 consumers revealed that travelers place a greater emphasis on stories and shared experiences rather than simple product descriptions. Emotional resonance has become a key factor in their decision-making process.
