Marketing Insights to Attract Adventure Seekers, Family Travelers & More
A brand new calendar year is a popular time to begin planning vacations and trips. For marketers in the travel and tourism industry, it’s prime time since U.S. outbound tourism reached $108.81 billion in 2024, with expectations to grow to $412.26 billion by 2034. While 23% of Americans have never traveled internationally, 76% have visited at least one other country, and 26% have traveled to five or more. [1]
To support marketers in hospitality, airlines, hotels, vacation rental property, and more, Causeway Solutions created proprietary models to cater to your ideal audiences with the right marketing messages. Through our modeling and analysis, we’ve uncovered intriguing trends in various types of travel behavior. We modeled five distinct audiences based on the different types of trips preferred by the groups: [2]
- Adventure Seekers
- Relaxation Travelers
- Solo Travelers
- Family Travelers
- Friend Travelers
These groups share some common traits but also reveal a broad spectrum of differences. Let’s take a closer look at our findings.
Adventure Travelers
- Adventure travelers are primarily male and under 40 years old. We found that women are less likely to fall into the “adventure traveler” category, with men showing a stronger inclination toward adventure-based trips.
- This group is less engaged with social media influencers, opting instead to watch more YouTube content. They also tend to stream more on Netflix, though their use of platforms like LinkedIn, Amazon Prime, Max, Apple TV, and Paramount+ remains relatively stable.
- In 2023, over 61 million Americans participated in hiking activities, and ski resorts saw a record 65 million visits, marking a 7% increase over the previous year. [3]
Relaxation Travelers
- Relaxation travelers are typically over 40 years old and are less engaged with streaming services and social media.
- They watch similar amounts of broadcast TV as other groups but use YouTube less. This group also has a reduced presence on platforms like Netflix, LinkedIn, and Amazon Prime, although their engagement with Apple TV, Max, and Paramount+ remains consistent.
Solo Travelers
- Solo travelers tend to be more private, engaging less with streaming services and social media.
- While they watch the same amount of broadcast content and YouTube as other groups, they are less likely to use Netflix, LinkedIn, and Amazon. However, their engagement with Max, Apple TV, and Paramount+ is on par with other travelers.
- Interestingly, this group is the most likely to be interested in cooking and health and wellness.
- Solo travel has grown significantly in popularity, with 54% of travelers planning at least one solo trip in 2024, a trend that has been increasing since 2009. [4]
Family Travelers
- Family travelers are generally between the ages of 40 and 60 and tend to be more affluent.
- They engage more with streaming services and social media influencers than other groups. This group watches more YouTube and Netflix and has a greater presence on platforms like Amazon Prime. They also continue to stream on Apple TV, Max, and Paramount+.
- Nearly half of family travelers report being interested in health and wellness, and 23% identify as music and movie enthusiasts. [5]
- Family travel accounts for 30% of global outbound tourism trips and 44% of the U.S. leisure travel market. [6]
Friend Travelers
- Friend travelers are typically younger, female, and affluent.
- This group watches less broadcast TV and prefers streaming services, with a high engagement in social media and influencers. They watch more YouTube and Netflix, have a larger presence on LinkedIn, and stream more on platforms like Prime and Max. Their use of Apple TV and Paramount+ is average.
- Half of this group are cooking enthusiasts and electronics fans, and they also share a strong interest in health and wellness. Friend travelers are also more likely to be sports fans.
- According to AAA, people tend to spend more on shared experiences like dining out and activities when traveling with friends.
These diverse travel preferences highlight the variety of motivations for people’s travel choices and with whom they choose to travel. Using Causeway Solutions’ proprietary models, marketers in travel, tourism, and hospitality industries can target their ideal audiences, offering inspiration and guidance as they wander and wonder.
Contact us to increase the effectiveness of your marketing and advertising campaigns, while reducing wasted marketing dollars. Email [email protected] to learn more.
Catharine Szefcyk is Manager of Healthcare Insights at Causeway Solutions, a leading provider of Acquisition Analytics and innovative data services. Catharine bridges data analytics with healthcare strategy to deliver actionable insights that drive campaign efficiency and patient acquisition. Acting as a key client liaison, she builds stakeholder relationships and implements data solutions that align with business objectives including acquisition, retention, recruitment, and brand awareness. Catharine is a graduate of the University of Toledo with an MBA in Data Analytics from Baldwin Wallace University. Causeway Solutions empowers clients to make smart, timely, data-driven decisions through real-time consumer insights to better reach target audiences. Learn more at CausewaySolutions.com.
Sources
- TravelPerk, December 10, 2024
- Causeway Solutions Media Consumption Models 2024
- Ski Area Management, June 28, 2023
- GlobalRescue, June 19, 2024
- Causeway Solutions Media Consumption Models 2024
- Condor Ferries
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