Summer has arrived in the Northern hemisphere. All this week, our daily charts will focus on travel and tourism. We’ll explore shifting travel preferences, new business models, luxury travel, disruptions affecting the industry, and more.
Travelers enjoy the journey of planning their own trips, note senior partner Matteo Pacca and coauthors. They highlight findings from a McKinsey survey, which revealed that in the past year, only 17 percent of respondents used a travel agent. So where is inspiration coming from these days? While there are many sources that spark travel ideas, family and friends top the list. Social media influencers, on the other hand, come in last.
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A series of 10 Voronoi diagrams show travelers’ sources of travel inspiration, where respondents could select multiple options. The top pick at 49% was family and friends, followed by search engine at 40%, online booking platform at 37%, family and friends’ social media at 34%, destination-specific website at 24%, online forum at 24%, travel blog at 21%, hotel website at 20%, guidebooks at 20%, and finally social media influencers at 18%.
Source: McKinsey State of Travel Survey, Feb 27–Mar 11, 2024 (n = 5,061).
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To read the article, see “The way we travel now,” May 29, 2024.