Habits

• Skift has conducted a survey under affluent travelers. While this survey needs to be purchased, they have shared some insights on affluent travelers.
• Affluent travelers are "avid travelers who prioritize experience."
• They plan and book their trips on their own. Only 10% of these traveler use travel agents. They use travel review websites (such as TripAdvisor) and destination websites as the most important sources when planning a trip.
• With regard to their spending habits, they "spend more money on traveling than on other things, but prefer to allocate more funds toward unique activities rather than a nicer hotel."

Where They Travel

• Approximately 80% of affluent travelers want to visit new places (where they haven't been). These places should have "gorgeous vistas that allow for relaxing quiet time." Relaxation should be active (for example, diving at a barrier reef or hiking in the mountains), exotic, and comfortable.

What They Want

• According to Skift, these travelers "are increasingly traveling with intention, motivated by the internal journey that accompanies these types of personally relevant physical experiences." They thus seek transformative travel and this "encompasses a broad spectrum of experiences, whether that may be learning a new skill to having a meaningful conversation with an artisan in his or her studio who explains the process and story behind each object he or she creates."
• Affluent travelers are increasingly using alternative accommodation "such as Airbnb and HomeAway (in particular families traveling with children): 50 percent have stayed at a short-term vacation rental at least once, compared to 36 percent the previous year."

Values

• According to Skift, affluent travelers "are hesitant to call themselves “luxury travelers,” likely because they don’t tend to fit the traditional definition of the term."
• For them, "the ultimate luxury lies in the transformational value of the experience and how it helps travelers become the person they aspire to be."

Ipsos Profiles

• Ipsos segments affluent travelers into 5 categories: the jetsetters, taste of first class, domestic deal-seekers, homebodies, and experienced explorers.
• Jetsetters are interested in foreign destinations, they spend $24,100 on travel, and 65% are interested in destinations off the beaten track. They spend 66 hours per week online and watch TV for 14 hours each week.
• Taste of first class spend $6,200 on travel, 80% of this segment is willing to pay more for comfort and service, and for 55% wine and fine food is important. They spend 49 hours per week online and watch TV for 21 hours each week.
• Domestic Deal-Seekers are interested in domestic destinations and seek bargains for their vacation. Approximately 73% like to take weekend trips, 65% would visit great vacation destinations again, and they spend $6,900 on vacation. They spend 45 hours per week online and watch TV for 17 hours each week.
• Homebodies prefer domestic destinations and spend $2,600 on vacations. They spend 38 hours per week online and watch TV for 17 hours each week.
• Experienced explorers are heavy international travelers and cruisers. Of this segment 86% travels to international destinations to learn more about other cultures and the median spend on travel from this segment is $13,200. They spend 40 hours per week online and watch TV for 18 hours each week.

Summary of Findings

• During the initial hour of research, we focused on building a psychographic profile of the affluent traveler.
• Information was found that provided some insight into their habits, what they want and where they travel. However, we were unable to identify specific travel destinations during this hour (due to time constraint).
• Given that these travelers are seeking transformative experiences and these transformations are based on their personal values, passions, and aspirations we would recommend these aspects are further explored in research.
• The Ipsos profiles show that there is variation in this group and provides some insight in their spending and media habits.