Launched in 2014, online travel agency justfly.com is used by millions of customers every year.
The company credits the continued growth to its adaptability in an increasingly competitive market, its customer-centric user experience and its dedication to innovation.
And the vast number of travelers using the justfly.com platform give the company incredible insight on travel trends. Here are a few patterns the company is seeing right now.
Trend 1: Customers Want a Balance of AI Technology and Human Interaction
The justfly.com platform uses generative AI to make intelligent recommendations to customers based on user input, and even to provide after-sales support, from changing a reservation and rebooking flights to processing refunds. That said, the company also knows that users want human interaction.
In fact, a recent survey conducted by the company highlights the need for a balance of technological and personal assistance. Although chatbots may be efficient and available around the clock, 90% of survey respondents say human interaction is important when customers require assistance. When reflecting on flight and hotel bookings specifically, 35% percent say human interaction is “very important.” Additionally, 29% said that planning travel itineraries with a live person is “very important.”
The study also shows that some travelers remain wary of AI; 45% of Baby Boomer respondents say they’re skeptical of the technology and concerned about data breaches, and 42% of Gen X respondents say they wouldn’t trust their trip-planning to AI.
Trend 2: Americans Will Budget — and Even Take On Debt — In Order to Travel
In late 2023, justfly.com commissioned a study of 2,000 American travelers to better understand their thinking around travel, despite its rising costs. Of all the respondents, 61% say they have edited their budgets in order to afford vacationing, and 37% say they’ve even taken on debt in order to travel.
The study even dug into how respondents would cut everyday costs to afford travel. More than 70% reveal they’d eat out less and spend less on entertainment; 60% report that they’d spend less on clothing and gifts; and some believe they’d spend less on essentials like groceries (36%), household supplies (32%) and transportation (22%).
Trend 3: Different Generations Tackle Travel Budgeting Differently
The same study reveals that travelers of different generations finance their vacations in differing ways. Those from Gen Z report that they had worked more hours (52%) or even taken on a second job (24%) to pay for past vacations. Meanwhile, 46% of Millennials use their credit cards to pay for trip costs; 12% report taking out a loan to afford travel expenses; and 50% report that they’d worked more hours to pay for a trip. Baby Boomers make the most significant budget cuts in order to travel, with 80% saying they’d spend less on eating out, for example.
Trend 4: Travelers Will Alter How They Travel — If It Means They Still Can
To contend with high travel prices, respondents in the same survey say that they would “make concessions” in terms of how they travel so that they still could get on the road. Of the Americans surveyed, 67% look for and use discounts to cut costs; 57% may change their travel dates; and 57% are willing to cut costs by downgrading their accommodation type, where they dine and other activities. Then, 11% of Gen Z respondents look for cash-back offers during the booking process.
“Americans will make travel accessible at all costs,” said Henri Chelhot, CEO of justfly.com. “Even during challenging economic times, the majority of those surveyed were willing to make financial concessions to make their planned trip possible.”
