What’s Next in Travel: Nature Treks, Trips to the Past and Conscious Dining

One month into a new decade and a variety of travel trends are emerging on Airbnb. From immersive trekking Experiences, meditative self care on the road, and the rise of more vegan-friendly food Experiences, travelers are seeking ways to have unique, transformative experiences they will remember for years to come. In fact, people are willing to pay up for them.

According to a recent survey commissioned by Airbnb, 57 percent of Americans prefer to spend their money on experiences over things, and 37 percent plan to increase their spending on experiences in 2020, particularly women (39%) and young adults (Gen Z (46%), millennials (48%)).¹ And coming of age generations are already expanding their purchasing power. American Gen Z travelers are the likeliest to spend the most money on vacation activities, while the Traditionalists are the most budget-conscious.² But no matter how deep the pockets or wide the age gap, there are five travel trends that have risen to the top:

Nature Calls…From Marrakech

The yearning to get out of comfort zones and into the wilderness is bringing out the nature lover in travelers this year. In 2020, a quarter of Americans (and 32% of Millennials) plan to take an adventurous, outdoorsy trip, and adventure travel is the trend Americans are most interested in learning more about.² For those looking for their next big journey, Kathmandu, Nepal and Marrakech, Morocco are home to the most Airbnb Adventures, from a four-day spirituality trek through the Himalayas, to summiting North Africa’s highest peak, Mount Toubkal.³

Other immersive encounters with the outdoors like nature Experiences are also trending way up on Airbnb, especially with Gen Z (190% YoY) and millennials (102% YoY). Hiking and trekking Experiences in particular are seeing significant growth in bookings compared to a year ago.⁴ This year, guests are also getting more connected with the earth by staying in natural settings like igloos (up 83%), with baby boomers especially keen on campsites (up 171%).⁵ 

Going Back In Time Is En Vogue

As travelers explore new places in 2020, stepping into the shoes of locals from long ago is a favorite way to get to know a destination (32% of Americans would most like to learn about history and culture in 2020)² and hosts are noticing. History Experiences have increased 271 percent in supply in the last year⁸, and in 2020, they are up 116 percent in bookings by global travelers, with even stronger interest among Gen Z (up 176%) and millennials (up 118%) compared to 2019.⁴ 

Guests’ curiosity is not just piqued by learning about the past, but living in it, too. Homes on Airbnb featuring historic keywords in their titles (i.e., historic, era, WWI, etc.) have already been booked 50K+ times for stays in 2020.⁹

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Disconnecting To Reconnect

Connecting with oneself is big in 2020 with many travelers slowing down and centering their minds and spirits while traveling. 40 percent of Americans say they most like to spend their time relaxing and not doing much on vacation, a quarter of them would like to engage in an activity that increases personal wellness and helps them disconnect from technology, and 12 percent of Gen Z plans to take a spiritual or religious trip, more than any other generation bracket.²

And interestingly, a considerable amount like to do it solo: 16 percent of Americans report they most like to spend their time exploring a location solo while on vacation² and many others seem to agree – bookings including one guest are up 79 percent in 2020 on Airbnb.¹¹

Meditation Experiences are one of the ways travelers are reconnecting with themselves in 2020, seeing 106 percent growth in bookings for 2020 compared to last year.⁴ Travelers are also unplugging from the demands of daily life by heading to the outskirts. Barns are one of the top trending listing types in 2020, up 81 percent with guests since 2019, and that gets even higher with travelers from the Traditionalist generation at 157 percent.⁵

Bite-Size Travel Gets Big

With sustainable travel in focus, more travelers are taking the minimalist approach when it comes to planning their getaways this year. More than half of Americans would like to spend their money taking a long weekend trip¹, and more guests are also exploring destinations by car, with searches for listings with free parking up 46 percent.¹²

The downsized lifestyle is also appealing to travelers around the globe, with miniature, simplistic and efficient spaces like shepherd’s huts and tiny homes trending up 112 percent and 85 percent from 2019 to 2020, respectively.⁵

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Eating Clean And Consciously

As the world becomes more conscious about its dietary habits, food Experiences are becoming more plant based, with Experiences offering vegan options up 579 percent and those offering vegetarian options up 570 percent in supply in 2019 compared to 2018.⁸  For travelers seeking more veggie centric food while traveling, Mexico City and Havana are tied for having the most vegan-friendly Experiences.³

While Airbnb hosts are providing more sustainable food choices, guests are also leaning heavily into local carb comforts, with Experiences including baking (up 155%) and pasta (up 88%) surging in bookings for 2020 compared to 2019.⁴

Overall, it’s clear food remains one of the biggest motivations in travel and connecting people to new places – food and drink Experiences are the most booked by foreign travelers to a new country,¹³ and 35 percent of Americans say they most want to spend their time enjoying food experiences on vacation, with Gen Z and Millennials the most favorable groups.²

¹This Airbnb commissioned report shows data for 12,225 interviews from nine international polls.  Morning Consult conducted these polls in two phases. Phase One was conducted from September 25, 2019 – October 1, 2019 among national samples of 2,206 American adults, 1,200 Australian adults, and 1,147 United Kingdom adults.  Phase Two was conducted from December 27, 2019 – January 3, 2020 among national samples of 1,391 French adults, 1,301 Indian adults, 1,208 Brazilian adults, 1,200 Mexican adults, 1,200 Chinese adults, and 1,372 German adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, and region.  The margin of error is ±2% at a 95% confidence interval.

²In a recent poll commissioned by Airbnb and conducted by Morning Consult a national sample of 5,445 American adults were surveyed from December 23, 2019 – January 2, 2020. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, and region.  The margin of error is ±2% at a 95% confidence interval.”

³Based on internal Airbnb data of cities with the largest supply of specific Experience categories and tags of Experiences as of December 2019.

⁴Based on Airbnb internal data of  year-over-year growth of bookings for specific Experience categories comparing bookings made for 2020 from October 26, 2019 – January 26, 2020  with bookings for 2019 during the same time frame in 2019/18, also further split by generations of people (Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers, Traditionalists). 

⁵Based on Airbnb internal data of year-over-year growth of bookings for specific space types, further split by generations of people comparing bookings for 2020 as of January 3, 2020 to bookings for 2019 as of January 3, 2019. 

⁶Based on Airbnb internal data of year-over-year growth of bookings for individual Experiences of  specific categories and tags (hiking, history, meditation, food & drink, baking) comparing bookings made between October 26, 2019 – January 26, 2020 compared to same time frame in 2019/18.

⁷Based on Airbnb internal data measuring most wish listed homes of specific space types from all Airbnb wish lists of 2019 (igloos, tiny houses, kezhans, shepherds huts).

⁸Based on Airbnb internal data measuring year-over-year growth in supply of specific Experience categories and tags (history, vegan, vegetarian) comparing supply from December 1, 2019 – December 1, 2018. 

⁹Based on Airbnb internal data measuring bookings made for stays in 2020 in listings with specific key terms in the title (i.e., historical, era, ancient, war, etc.) 

¹⁰Based on Airbnb internal data of homes with specific key terms in their title (i.e., historical, era, ancient, war, etc.) 

¹¹Based on Airbnb internal data measuring year-over-year growth in bookings by trip types, comparing 2020 trips as of December 8, 2019 with 2019 trips as of December 8, 2018.

¹²Based on Airbnb internal data measuring year-over-year growth of number of searches by amenity, comparing Sept.-Nov. of 2019 with Sept-Nov. of 2018.

¹³Based on Airbnb internal data measuring most booked Experience categories by guests originating from a different country in 2019.