Squaremouth reveals the five most surprising autumn travel trends
People are on the move again, spending more and visiting new places
US travel insurtech Squaremouth has analysed data from thousands of travellers to discover their plans this autumn.
So far, this year’s season is outpacing last year by more than 38 per cent, as people begin to travel again after the easing of travel restrictions.
International travel specifically has increased by 48 per cent. This means a return to the peak numbers seen before the pandemic. Squaremouth said domestic trips have plateaued and that international travel now accounts for 88 per cent of policies bought through their website this season.
However, not all destinations are feeling this benefit. The Caribbean, which surged in popularity during the pandemic and overtook European destinations, has now been replaced by European countries again. This comes after a reopening of borders and reduced entry requirements. Places such as Italy, the UK, Spain and France are the most popular for Squaremouth customers.
Another European nation seeing a boost is Portugal. For the first time, it sits in the top 10 most popular autumn destinations, according to Squaremouth.
Costs aren’t falling
Travellers are spending more on trips this autumn season than ever before. The average cost of a trip this year is $4,286, a 20 per cent increase on last year’s season and a 15 per cent increase on 2019.
Squaremouth said this increase is due to current market conditions and that more than half of its customers are spending more on trips because of inflation and gas prices, rather than intentionally.
Among the 20 most popular destinations, the trips on which customers are spending the most are to Egypt and Australia; the average trips to these destinations cost $6,530 and $6,256 respectively.
The rise is spending is caused by the return of high-priced international trips. Overall, international travel spending has increased by more than 21 per cent when compared to last year, said Squaremouth.