Tag: popular

What is expected to become standard for travelling this coming decade?

Agoda, an online travel booking platform, has revealed what travellers expect to become the ‘norm’ over the next decade, following a global survey carried out by YouGov Singapore.

The top three expected developments to become standard practice are single apps for all travel needs, passport free travel, and mobile app check-in. This is particularly true among respondents in SE Asia, of whom half listed these as the expected standard over the next decade. Only a third of UK and US respondents expect this to be the new norm, with both countries also less optimistic on the likelihood of passport-free travel, with only 20% expecting this to be the norm. China (44%) and Australia (41%) – along with SE Asian countries – were more positive over this development.

The study also found that exploring more of their own country was cited by 40% of respondents, with international travel anticipated at 35%, and more than 25% wishing to make more eco-friendly choices going forward. UK, South Korea and Australia were the only countries omitting a domestic destination on their wish lists, with New York being the top desire for British travellers.

Kyoto rated the top most-anticipated destination overall, being popular with respondents all around the world, followed by Bangkok and Bali.

Timothy Hughes, Vice President of Corporate Development at Agoda, said: ‘It is a technology golden age for travellers, as technology is developed to simplify the way anyone, anywhere can search, book and pay for flights, hotels or holiday accommodation. The 2000s was defined by the mouse and the computer, putting online travel booking just a click away. The 2010s, was defined by the smart phone and app, and put a travel agent in the pocket of every phone owner, and the 2020s will be defined by the power of data and Machine Learning (AI). This will enable companies like Agoda to provide personalized, more relevant recommendations to make booking travel even easier. Asian travellers, in particular, are enthused by, and expectant of, technology developments that enhance and simplify their travel experience. Asian based companies are now leading the world in technology adoption and development to achieve this. I expect to see Asia press ahead with that lead in the 2020s – especially in areas such as video and augmented reality, improved mobile services with more chat and voice solutions, and payments to help bring the ‘unbanked’ online’.

The study took information from over 16,000 respondents earlier this month.

CheapOair.com reveals popular European destinations this summer, London top

CheapOair.com, a US-focused online travel agency and provider of discount flights, has announced the most popular European destinations for summer travel in 2019.

Based on the travel trends and booking data, CheapOair revealed that London is the highest booked destination for the fourth straight year with an average roundtrip airfare of $783, a 10 per cent price decrease from 2018. London was also named the best-rated destination in the world by the 2019 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards for destinations, up from second place in 2018.

Based on its price- comparison and booking analysis, CheapOair also found that Greece is emerging as a popular destination among tourists and travellers. Athens continues to be a summer hot spot, with the price decreasing by four percent compared to 2018, making it a highly attractive destination this year.

‘Flying to Europe is becoming more affordable every year, which means it’s also becoming increasingly popular,’ said Tom Spagnola, Senior Vice President of Supplier Relations at CheapOair. ‘Consumers should take advantage of these low costs to experience European cities they haven’t been to before, but booking early is important as summer is the most popular travel season and costs will only increase from here.’

With its data on travel trends, CheapOair helps consumers and travel professionals in both planning their travel accommodations and staying current on the most popular destinations.

According to the data revealed by CheapOair, the average price to fly to European destinations has decreased by three percent this summer. With several major carriers introducing basic economy fares for trans-Atlantic flights, consumers are taking advantage of many affordable travel options to popular European cities, including Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and Madrid, it said.

British Airways reveals top destinations this summer

British Airways has revealed some of the most popular holiday destinations for travellers this summer – one of the busiest ever with the airline reported to have carried over four million customers across its network in August alone.

The list of top destinations includes long-haul destinations such as New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. Short-haul destinations like Malaga, Nice, Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Glasgow are also featured in the list of hotspots for UK holidaymakers over this past summer break.

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Director of Network and Alliances, said: ‘This year British Airways is offering its largest network schedule for 10 years, with flights to 211 destinations across more than 75 countries. Next year we’re confident new additions to the British Airways route map like Pittsburgh and Nashville, alongside Santiago, where we’ve recently increased the number of weekly flights, will be among our most popular destinations, as well as some of the traditional hotspots we’ve seen this year.’

The airline also said that customers were into the holiday spirit more than ever this year, with 212,000 bottles of wine consumed across all British Airways flights in July, up three per cent on last year. Meanwhile, those in Club Europe or Club World and First consumed 105,000 bottles of Champagne, up five per cent. British Airways also allows customers to pre-order from a range of 13 complimentary special meals for specific dietary requirements. While nearly 37,000 ordered were vegan meals – up 32 per cent on the same period last year, nearly 5,000 meals were low-calorie, it said.

With flights available 355 days in advance, customers can now begin planning their next summer getaway, the airline said. British Airways is now on a £4.5bn investment plan for customer service improvements, which includes new catering in Club World (long-haul business class) and World Traveller (long-haul economy) as well as refreshed lounges.

British Airways Holidays also recommends some of its most popular hotels in each destination including the Mandarin Oriental in Singapore, Atlantis The Palm in Dubai, Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa in Los Angeles, and Le Meridien in Nice.