3 Fast Facts.

• 75% of respondents consider travel experiences more important than material possessions.
• 48% believe travel will continue to grow at higher levels.
• 63% of international travellers would obtain security extraction protection services if the travel advisory assigned to the country they plan to visit Level 1, exercise standard precautions, or Level 2, exercise increased caution.

The value of travel experiences has surpassed the importance of material things, and work-from-home models are inspiring more travel.

Travelers are prioritizing leisure trips more than ever, and most consider travel experiences more important than material possessions, according to the more than 2,000 responses collected by the Global Rescue Spring 2024 Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey, which was conducted between April 16 and 20, 2024.

People are changing their spending habits, taking advantage of remote work models, and increasing their security precautions to find ways to travel more often and longer.

More than a third of travellers (39%) responding to the survey said travel is a higher priority today than it was pre-pandemic. Three out of four respondents (75%) said travel experiences are more important than material possessions.  

Travelers Trading Big Purchases for Travel

More than 70% of respondents said they are decreasing discretionary spending to enable more travel. Respondents are delaying purchases like an additional car, a second home, tickets for sporting events, concerts or shows, jewellery, and expensive restaurants. According to the survey results, some are holding off on starting a family or getting a pet to save for travel.

New car sales have dipped, second home ownership has plummeted, jewellery purchases are down, and travel continues to increase beyond pre-pandemic levels. People are trading off material possessions for passport entry stamps and the memories of travelling boldly.

According to survey results, more than half of travelling respondents (51%) plan on more trips in 2024, 38% plan longer trips, and an equal percentage (38%) plan to spend more money compared to pre-pandemic.

Travellers expect the travel surge to continue. Nearly half (48%) of respondents believe travel will continue to grow at higher levels. Over a third (35%) said travel growth will level off but remain above pre-pandemic levels. Only a fifth (20%) predicted travel would level off and then dip below pre-pandemic levels. 

Travellers Faster to Obtain Security Services

According to the Global Rescue Spring 2024 Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey, travellers are increasing their trip safety with a security advisory and extraction protection in 2024. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of the world’s most experienced travellers reported they would obtain security extraction protection services if the U.S. State Department travel advisory assigned to the country they plan to visit Level 1, exercise standard precautions, or Level 2, exercise increased caution.

Travellers are saying the war in Ukraine, the Hamas attacks on Israel or other violent conflicts make it more likely they will add security extraction and advisory protection to their travel protection packages.

Specifically, nearly a third of respondents (31%) would obtain additional security travel protection services if they were in a region prone to terrorism, civil unrest, or a country adjacent to a war zone, while another quarter (27%) would obtain additional security travel protection services for any international travel regardless of the threat of terrorism, civil unrest, or war zone.

The survey revealed that nearly nine out of 10 travellers surveyed are avoiding Paris altogether in 2024 due to a combination of safety concerns related to possible protests or civil unrest, a desire to avoid the crowds expected at the summer Olympic Games host city, or simply a preference to travel beyond traditional destinations.

Written by: Dan Richards

Dan Richards is CEO of The Global Rescue Companies, the world’s leading medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services provider. He serves on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Commerce and is a Global Member of the World Travel and Tourism Council.

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