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WTM report identifies emerging 2012 travel and tourism trends

November 06, 2012 | Hotel Marketing

The World Travel Market Global Trends Report 2012 highlights the nine key emerging travel and tourism trends worldwide, looking at how the global, regional and national political, social and economic situation is shaping the travel industry.

Americas: The Attraction of Forbidden Lands

Since 2010, countries previously off-limits to American tourists have become open; benefiting economically from tourism revenue. Caroline Bremner, Head of Travel and Tourism Research at Euromonitor said, "It's a small but growing market. Most US visitors to previously banned countries are expected to come from the Baby Boomer generation."

Europe: BRIC's Grand Shopping Tour

Brazil, Russia, India and China are embracing shopping tourism in key European destinations. Dynamic economic growth has led to rapidly increasing disposable income levels in these countries. Together with increased awareness of an improved quality of life, consumers from BRIC countries are keen to spend more on travel.

Middle East: Rise of Shopping Hotels

Big spenders with cash are driving the trend for Middle Eastern hotels built inside shopping malls. Wealthy consumers from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have disposable income and love shopping, thus mega-malls in the Middle East are booming. Shopping malls and associated hotel developments are key elements in the recovery of tourism, which saw a difficult year in 2011.

Africa: Destination Nollywood

Nigeria's massive film industry, dubbed Nollywood, is the world's second largest film industry in volume terms, after India's Bollywood and ahead of Hollywood, with more than 2,000 films produced annually. The increasing popularity of Nollywood in many African countries will be a major growth driver with the leisure sector attracting film fans.

Global Village: Digital Detox

In a time when technology is an intrinsic part of everyday life, with more consumers addicted to their devices, some hotels are going against the tide, helping guests to check in and switch off. Some hotels are offering "technology-free" packages as an escape for busy travellers.

Download the full report at Euromonitor

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