The expectations that visitors and travelers have of a place are constantly changing. The goals of a vacation are no longer restricted to guided tours of a place or city’s top attractions. There exists a yearning, an impulse to delve deeper and discover a location in greater detail. Experiential travel has increased over the past few years due to the shift in travel towards a more experience-driven approach. According to TripAdvisor research, travelers are looking for a combination of novel experiences and distinctive trips to well-known locations.
Experiential travel: what is it?
The main focus of experiential travel is on activities and cultural discovery. Travelers and tourists no longer only desire to cross items off their bucket lists. They seek enriching experiences that allow them to interact more deeply and intimately with a location and its culture. Authenticity is now a fundamental value for many visitors. Travelers desire to engage with people and do more than stare out of a tour van.
A significant component of the recent uptick in experiential travel is culinary tourism. Travelers nowadays are on the hunt for one-of-a-kind dining experiences wherever they go. Because food is deeply ingrained in local culture, it can serve as a social and emotional anchor for tourists. Tourists would rather not sit on the sidelines and participate in an experience.
How do the preferences of travelers change over time?
These days, vacationers want to find the lesser-known attractions of a destination. Mostly, they are sick of the same old tourist traps. It is said in the 2018 TripAdvisor report that “travelers are expanding their horizons and bringing growth to new, non-traditional and experiential categories.”
Tour operators face the challenge of adapting to such changes by carefully selecting travel experiences that offer consumers genuine opportunities to understand better the world they visit. The need for standardized experiences is gradually fading.
The role that technology has played in facilitating experiential travel
Online connectivity and the proliferation of social media have given tourists many new options. Thanks to smartphones, tourists no longer have to worry about things when exploring a new city. The world is literally at their fingers. Experiential travel has grown in popularity to discover unexplored destinations, reserve one-of-a-kind encounters, and choose among numerous alternatives to select the finest one.
Instagram and other social media have allowed people to share their trip adventures with a massive audience. Because there are so many travel bloggers on Instagram, there is always a need for fresh, original content from these bloggers. Content that makes them different. This is another reason why tourists look for unique and unconventional activities.
A large part of the credit for getting individuals to try out unusual activities and go to strange places goes to popular culture. Film and television viewers have long been interested in visiting the locations used in these mediums. An increase in trips influenced by popular culture has resulted directly from this.
Said the way individuals interact with foreign places is transformed by experience travel. What people desire from a vacation these days has changed drastically. The new philosophy is all about being genuine.
Why is experiential tourism becoming more popular?
People increasingly want to engage in activities when vacationing rather than merely unwinding. So, the question is, why is this? There are many reasons for this, such as the desire to learn something new and to live out the adventures travel we’ve seen in movies, TV shows, online blogs, and social media. Still, customers are shunning the tried-and-true “sun, sea, and sand” vacation in favor of something more offbeat and engaging.
And it’s not enough for consumers to simply enjoy an immersive experience; they also want to broadcast it to the world! According to a survey conducted by Schofields, a holiday home insurance provider located in the UK, 40.1% of millennials rank the Instagrammability of a destination as their top priority when selecting and reserving a vacation spot. Sharing personal experiences and eye-catching visuals is a popular way for people to express themselves online. Those who follow them on social media, whether they are friends, fans, or anyone else!
People are eager to get out and do something, especially in the wake of the pandemic. Exciting adventures allow us to truly live, create lasting memories, and nourish our souls. Many people feel they haven’t had many opportunities to live in the last several years. Embark on an adventurous journey to an unknown location and experience the thrill of doing new things, making new friends, and eating delicious cuisine!
For what reasons is experiential travel promoted?
This title is seldom used while selling experiential travel. “adventure travel” or “experience travel” describes the rebranded version. One firm that promotes this kind of trip as an experiential one is Scott Dunn, a high-end travel label. “Immersive, adventurous, and authentic” is how they put it. A journey that immerses you in a new culture so that you can feel what it’s like to live there. In Milan, it might mean going thrifting; in Cape Town, it could mean having dinner with a culinary blogger. In this fast-paced, always-on world, we craft adventures that will make you question everything you thought you knew about the people and places in your life.
Anything advertised as an adventure will offer an opportunity to try experiencing travel. Your vacation is likely experiential if you aren’t spending two weeks lounging on a sunbed, sipping cocktails, and devouring buffet fare.
Various types of experiential tourism
Various types of experiential tours: The term “experiential travel” is very general. Thus, it naturally covers a wide range of vacations and forms of tourism. Tourists can immerse themselves in the local culture by living in a homestay or volunteering for a tourism trip to give back to the community. A fantastic approach to make sure you have an immersive experience is to travel to off-the-beaten-path regions like Inner Mongolia or the Chinese Silk Road.
Climbing Mount Toubkal or scuba diving in Dahab are two other options for vacationers seeking an immersive vacation. One possibility is a city break to Shanghai, while another is a cross-country drive through Canada. Still, just because you go to these locations and do these things doesn’t mean you’re having an “experiential travel” vacation. Discovering what lies beneath the surface is critical. Instead of eating at the city’s most famous restaurants or asking random people (including taxi drivers, store clerks, and residents) for “off the beaten path” suggestions, you may try taking a cooking class or taking a culinary tour while on vacation.
Steps to take your vacation to the next level
Fully immersing oneself is the essence of experiential travel. Indulge in the local culture and way of life in countless ways! Some instances are as follows:
- Learn more about homestays and booking or utilizing a home-sitting app here!
- Embark on a town-guided walking tour
- Sign up for a culinary lesson that focuses on regional specialties
- Dine at locally-owned eateries
- Collaborate with others in a community-oriented endeavor, like cleaning up the beach.
- Take in some live music, a sports game, or a theatrical performance in your neighborhood.
- Get on the phone with as many people as possible. Instead of using Uber, choose a local or independent cab service.
- Volunteer your time
- An example of this would be slow tourism, which involves staying in one place for an extended period.
- Venture outside the typical route
What makes an immersive vacation worthwhile?
Going on an adventure is great for your health. Learning a new language, discovering delicious new cuisines, or delving into the history of a culture you were previously unfamiliar with are all ways that traveling may expand your horizons and teach you new things. Seeing the way other people live can alter your viewpoint. Part of it is overcoming whatever preconceived notions you may have about a given neighborhood, ethnic group, or state of mind. Open yourself up to new ideas!