Experiential travel is going to be a bigger sector than cruise, according to Tourhub chief executive Seamus Conlon.
Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast, Conlon, who spent 15 years as chief executive of cruise.co.uk, said he thinks the experiential travel sector is growing exponentially and has the capacity to be more popular that cruise.
“I just think this sector will get bigger and bigger and bigger, and that was part of my logic when I decided I needed to move on from cruise,” he said.
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“I asked myself what I saw as the next big sector and I thought this is where I want to be in travel.”
Conlon cited the pandemic as a reason for growth within the experiential travel sector, but said the rise of social media has been a key drivers in sales.
He also said more economic freedom in solo women aged in their forties and fifties – who make up 25-30% of the platform’s customers – has contributed to a surge in popularity for the experiential travel space.
“[Experiential travel] had a boost in traffic from Covid as people wanted to get out and do stuff, but the bigger long-term trend is the fact that social media has grown so much and people can now see all these amazing experiences.
“People aren’t restricted to certain holidays. They go on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok and see a world of influencers showing them things they’d never thought about.
“More women travelling due to economic empowerment and independence is also a long-term trend.”