While yesterday’s travellers sought to check off all the boxes of the many cultural sites to visit during a vacation, today’s travellers are increasingly looking to make memories through immersive, experience-based vacations. In short, travellers are looking for trips that speak to the senses.
The current craze for adventure travel has been noted by Pinterest: searches for this type of vacation have risen by 45% in the space of a year worldwide, according to the latest report from the visual platform.
“It’s a testament to seeking exhilaration, a reconnection with nature, and a departure from the mundane – a collective yearning for experiences that offer an adrenaline rush, immersion in nature and elevation of the spirit.
“Achieving goals in adventurous settings can foster a sense of accomplishment and empowerment,” Pinterest’s summer 2024 travel trends report says.
In detail, travellers’ top-trending adventure travel activities include luxury safari lodges (110%), hiking trails (94%), trekking (40%) and mountaineering (40%). In terms of trending adventure travel destinations, Pinterest reports strong interest in Tanzania safaris and nature-focused trips to the Philippines (60% and 150%, respectively).
Taking the time to experience the emotions stirred by an encounter and/or the discovery of a landscape is what motivates many travelers today. That’s why the “slow travel” movement is of so much interest to the Pinterest community: searches using the keywords “quiet life” have soared by 530% in one year, the platform reports.
In a context where daily life involves a multitude of screens, travel appears to be a way of turning away from this hyperconnection. Searches for “quiet places”, for example, have increased by 50%, while trips to national parks (250%) and stays in mountain chalets (180%) are all the rage, too.
In this quest for thrills and deeper experiences, the data echoes what Booking.com recently reported, namely that travellers want to be surprised. In fact, 52% of those surveyed by the reservations platform said they wanted to book trips where the destination remained a mystery until they arrived.
Similarly, consumers are looking for mysterious places on Pinterest. Ancient cities are particularly popular (75%), but vacationers also want to feel spooked, by visiting haunted (155%) places or exploring abandoned (230%) sites.