#BizTrends2022: Flexibility, bleisure travel and flexcations are the new normal in travel
Lift, for example, was the first airline in South Africa to offer ‘no strings attached’ flexibility – giving passengers the ability to change or cancel flights up to 24 hours before take-off. Travel remains stressful for many and this option has proven to go a long way in removing this key stress point.
Despite the impact of the 4th wave and global travel restrictions, December was the best month for Lift since we launched. We moved ±45k people with 96% on-time performance. This reiterates that understanding customer needs and remaining customer-centric remains a differentiator in our market and is good for business.
As business travel picks-up, we foresee an increase in joint business and leisure travel, also known as bleisure travel. The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) expects international business travel spending to surge in 2022 and possibly double by 2024. Business travellers will want to add an element of fun to really make the most of the destinations they visit. Employers are likely to agree, as they offer these trips as a perk, accommodating ‘workation’ requests to attract and keep the right talent.
As digital nomads become the norm in 2022, work and pleasure will become even more closely linked with flexcations increasing. This creative travel in a time of work and school flux – blends remote flexibility – invigorating a new golden age of travel. With school schedules more flexible than ever, attending classes and working can take place anywhere now. This creates big opportunities for family travel, which was traditionally seasonal. Travel opportunities will now arise at unexpected times – and travel deprived individuals are expected to take advantage in new ways.
Curated travel experiences
From dream local destinations to dream experiences – travellers are looking to create memorable experiences. With this knowledge in mind, we’ve created Lift Experiences, for example, to cater to the modern traveller offering curated travel experiences to suit consumer pockets and desires. Packaged with the help of travel experts, this is one way Lift is looking to stimulate tourism amid Covid-19 waves and lockdown levels.
Courtesy of Bizcommunity – read full article here.