Staycations, glamping and set-jetting are just a few of the trend buzzwords you may already be familiar with in your tourism business. Trends come and go, but whilst they are here, it is worth considering ways in which your business might benefit from using them.
The latest Tourism Intelligence Scotland webinar ‘Knowing your markets: mod-stalgia’ offers an insight into how one business, Loch Ness Glamping, has embraced a key trend and also features practical tips and advice from Senior Tourism Insight Manager at VisitScotland on how the latest trends can help your business.
The webinar helps you get to grips with key buzzwords, below is a snap-shot of what they are, and ideas of how you could incorporate each:
Glamping
Glamping involves accommodation which is more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping. The range of facilities which people class as glamping is diverse and can range from something as simple as a bell tent which is already erected to something much grander like a static train carriage. Glamping can also be in a variety of locations from a rural setting to a city centre. The advice given by the owner of Loch Ness Glamping is that accommodation and facilities should be distinctive and should tap into the visitors’ imagination and emotion. In offering something new and interesting there is a chance you could extend your regular season, however advice is given to collaborate with other local businesses to establish an infrastructure of facilities so that visitors can access a range of activities when visiting out of season.
Multi-generational travel
One of the biggest trends in travel and hospitality is the growth in multigenerational travel. The traditional family holiday comprising of two adults taking their children on holiday has changed with the economy and as the traditional family unit has evolved. There is an increase in grandparents taking grandchildren on holiday and grown up children who have returned to the family home going away on their own or with their parents. Tourism businesses can make the most of this change by offering group pricing, multi-room packages or family style dinners.
Modstalgia
Modstalgia is defined as nostalgia but with a modern twist. In 2013 the VisitScotland Insight team described modstalgia as a trip down memory lane which incorporates all the comforts of a 21st century holiday, for example, visitors could revisit a favourite holiday destination from their childhood, but enjoying a stay in a luxury hotel, instead of a campsite. The webinar explains that this trend is especially significant because if consumers have an emotional attachment to something, there is potentially an opportunity to charge a little more.
Set-jetting
The New York Post first coined the phrase ‘set-jetting’ to describe the trend of visitors travelling to destinations that they have seen in movies. Tourism businesses around the world are exploiting this trend by creating their own set-jetting travel maps, including one already available in Edinburgh which shows various film sites in the capital.
Staycation
Staycation is a time when families or individuals choose to have a holiday at home and participate in leisure activities generally within a short drive of their home. Staycations became popular in 2009 when there was a downturn in the economy and the weak Pound made overseas holidays more expensive. The trend has continued as consumers are keen to get what they perceive as a higher quality holiday in the UK, than what they get abroad. Yet, the staycation trend is beginning to level off as the number of foreign of holidays has increased. The trend is still important to Scottish tourism businesses as there will always be a segment of consumers who take domestic holidays and with the investment made in Scotland’s tourism products, we are more able to compete with foreign destinations now than before the credit crisis.
Find out more
The TIS webinar provides more detail on each of these trends and how they fit into the wider market.
To find out more about the guest speakers, Graham Anderson visit his business website Lochness Glamping and Chris Greenwood, Senior Tourism Insight Manager at VisitScotland.
The TIS website outlines Tourism Scotland 2020, the strategy for the industry, by the industry. The website highlights the importance of engaging with the National Tourism Strategy in order to help your business.