CreatripTeam

Trip.com Group and Google published a joint consumer insights report, "Why Travel?", analyzing global travel trends using Trip.com booking data and Google search trends. The study finds travelers care more about why they travel than just destinations, seeking deeper meaning through culture, community and technology. Five key themes identified are: travel as self-expression (noting growth in food travel searches and bookings; Seoul and other Asian cities popular for food and fashion; searches for Gwangjang Market increased over 40%), purpose-driven travel (rising interest in cultural rituals and off-the-beaten-path nature destinations), healing travel (wellness-active stays like golf & spa and ski & spa packages surged), connection-focused travel (group experiences such as concerts, sports events and community participation growing strongly), and the role of AI in planning (searches like “help planning my trip” rose sharply). Trip.com plans to expand concert- and sports-linked packages and AI-personalized services to meet community-oriented demand and AI-driven planning trends.