Travel trends change and this summer will be no different. Whether it's a vacation to Europe or a trip to a national park, travelers are looking for specific destinations. Priceline CEO Brett Keller joined TheStreet to share the biggest travel trends he's seeing this summer.
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Full video transcript below:
Conway Gittens: What are some of the top travel trends as we prepare for summer? What are you watching summer 2020 for?
Brett Keller: Sure, we're seeing a number of interesting trends forming here. Obviously, events like concerts, sports venues, etc. are really trendy and people travel outside of their local destination to attend them. Taylor Swift, obviously it's all in the headlines today, but people are using travel, obviously, to get to those destinations. And so obviously we're seeing demand coming into those markets as big venues and big concerts take place. That's one. Secondly, if you look the other way, America's national parks are absolutely at the top of people's bucket lists. And that's why they are spreading throughout the United States, attending and going to some of the largest parks in the country. Because of this, people are really making an effort to be outdoors more to enjoy the beauty, scenery, and tranquility that these types of experiences bring. And finally, things like cruising have hit an all-time high again. Cruise lines have never been better than they are now. That's why people really want to get out and experience new destinations. We're also seeing things like all-inclusive really take off again, as people want to have a simple beach vacation without having to worry about booking restaurants and doing other things. They want to go somewhere, just relax, breathe and enjoy their vacation.
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Conway Gittens: Brett, what are you seeing in terms of international domestic demand? There was some fluctuation around the pandemic, perhaps because some international destinations were closed and some people wanted to stay close to home. What are you seeing in terms of travel demand for Americans staying close to home in the United States versus those traveling abroad?
Brett Keller: Yeah, you were right. Coming out of the pandemic, things really came to a standstill. But people continued to travel within the borders of the United States. The next stage was actually going to destinations close to the border like the Caribbean and Mexico. And then last year, we saw a pretty dramatic change. Back then, a lot of people were moving out of the US because they hadn't been abroad for two or three years. And that's why Europe was very big last year. Asia was still partially closed. And this year we are seeing many more trips now going to the Asian world, to Southeast Asia. And again, as I mentioned earlier, Japan is a very important destination right now because of the currency fluctuation. It is obviously very hot in Paris, since the Olympic Games will be held here at the end of July. So what we're finding is that many consumers are going to Paris before and after the Olympics to avoid the crowds, but still take advantage of one of the world's top destinations. And obviously, the rest of the European hotspots are still very important to people. Obviously people move to Barcelona, London, Madrid, Athens, there are so many fantastic destinations to explore.
