Travel trends

The upcoming warm season and the accelerating vaccination campaign are determining the changes in the mood of travelers - more and more Lithuanians are deciding to travel abroad. Others are preparing for the warm season, vacation, and look forward to summer, looking for safe and comfortable travel routes. Global travel trends in the pandemic world show significant changes in travelers' preferences, which are likely to be reflected in Lithuanian choices.

A survey by DFDS shows that the fear of traveling is declining since the start of the second year of the pandemic, with vaccination contributing to this: almost 40% surveyed Lithuanians in February. said traveling earlier than the next 6 months if only to receive the vaccine. "In comparison, Lithuania's result is very good, because in Latvia this figure is lower - 28%, in Estonia - 30%, but the key question is how long and where those people will travel - and here global trends show serious changes," says Neringa Sinkevičienė, DFDS Marketing Campaign Manager for Baltic Routes.

Behavioral professionals, travel professionals, psychologists have been talking for some time about the new winds in the travel industry that come with changing traveler needs and preferences. According to N. Sinkevičienė, the main factor is still the feeling of insecurity caused by coronavirus and travel restrictions applied by different countries, but at the same time a much more interesting process is taking place - travelers are rethinking their habits and discovering new priorities.

Travel ecology

One of the most striking changes to be seen around the world is the increased awareness of travelers about ecological issues. Experts predict a renaissance of eco-travel - people will want to ride bicycles, swim in water transport, walk, and choose vehicles that combine ecology and safety to the point of departure. "Our survey showed that 42 percent. people want to travel by car in the near future, as well as people are more positive about ferry trips - 11 percent. in the future they would travel by ferry, because they have quite a lot of freedom of movement on board when sailing: they can spend part of the time on the open deck and limit contacts, ”says Neringa Sinkevičienė.

Green travel is also more conscious as travelers begin to appreciate not only personal costs but also the impact on nature. According to N. Sinkevičienė, although many people have heard about the damage caused to the environment by the aviation industry, it is easy to forget this information when you find a great and cheap offer for a weekend trip: what seemed cheap no longer seems so appealing when you start thinking about all the extra costs and the impact on nature. This trend will definitely continue - there will only be more eco-conscious travelers. "

Close to the new one away

Although long-distance and exotic travel will always have a segment of travelers, people looking for new experiences will now choose nearby countries instead of the popular long-distance travel before the pandemic. According to N. Sinkevičienė, one of the most obvious tendencies is local or near-foreign trips, visits to neighboring capitals or port cities: “Such trips will not necessarily be long, but they can change weekend flights, especially if traveling in the Baltic Sea region. It's a way to combine safety with the greening I mentioned. "

N. Sinkevičienė reminds that in a similar mood the residents of the Baltic States had already traveled after the creation of the Baltic Travel Bubble, when the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian borders could be crossed without restrictions: - Sit in a camper or car family, hitch a bike or an inflatable boat, and get on the road. We hope that this summer the travel bubble will expand to include all the countries of the Baltic Sea region. "

The DFDS survey shows that this region also attracts Lithuanians planning trips: compared to the pre-pandemic period, Latvia, Estonia and Norway seem to the respondents to be the same or more attractive destination, while Sweden is seen as an attractive country for travel by 14%. Lithuanian. "This is not surprising, because more and more locals are discovering Sweden as a country of beautiful nature, where the infrastructure is perfectly adapted for travelers individually," N. Sinkevičienė reminds.

Back to nature

Another travel trend that has become established in the world is the exceptional interest of travelers in nature. "If in the past people were looking for civilization, amenities and entertainment, willing to travel to the world's major metropolises, the experience of quarantine helped many to rediscover nature. It is now popular to travel where as few people as possible will meet and the image will not be damaged by structures or structures. It is in nature that it is easiest to reconcile the two previous principles - ecology and locality, ”concludes N. Sinkevičienė.

The fact that the number of trips to nature will only increase is also shown by the interest of Lithuanians in renting campers: “It is a newly discovered tool that is also experiencing a renaissance. Even ferry ticket sales reflect the increased number of camper travelers. It's a way to reduce the number of contacts throughout the trip, and it's especially important for people. "

N. Sinkevičienė is optimistic about the possibilities of the travel sector to adapt to the changing needs of passengers and the dynamic situation of a pandemic. "We see that people have also learned to find ways to travel safely despite great anxiety and changing rules. The DFDS survey showed that despite the still feeling of insecurity, Lithuanians' moods about traveling currently remain one of the most positive in the region - only 10%. the surveyed Lithuanians feel uncertain about traveling, it is unclear whether they will travel or not in the near future. ”