Today, Expedia unveiled Unpack ’24, a comprehensive look at what’s motivating travelers and where they’re going next year. Based on the company’s unmatched first-party travel data, plus a global consumer survey of 20,000 travelers, Unpack ’24 includes new travel trends for 2024, from top destinations to what’s next in travel tech.  

“At Expedia Group, we have extensive first-party travel data that we use to enhance and curate experiences for our travelers. These insights shape our travel forecasts, revealed in Unpack ’24, enabling our travelers to be the first to discover and book the most desired trips before they become well-beaten paths,” said Jon Gieselman, President of Expedia Brands. “From travelling for events like Taylor Swift or Beyoncé performances, and the rising allure of destinations like Perth, Palermo, and Paros, these trends begin to define the travel landscape in 2024.”  

The 2024 Set-jetting Forecast: For 2023, Expedia predicted travelers would turn to television sets and movie screens for travel inspiration. They did, and the trend shows no signs of stopping in 2024. More than half of travelers say they’ve researched or booked a trip to a destination after seeing it on a TV show or movie, and 1 in 4 admit that TV shows and films are even more influential on their travel plans than they were before. In fact, travelers say TV shows influence their travel decisions more than Instagram, TikTok and podcasts. 

Given the popularity of this travel trend, Expedia compiled its first-ever Set-jetting Forecast predicting what entertainment-inspired destinations travelers will head to in 2024, based on upcoming show and film releases and travel data from the Expedia Group platform.*  

• Thailand inspired by “The White Lotus” season 3. 
• Romania inspired by “Wednesday” season 2. 
• Malta inspired by the new “Gladiator 2” film.  
• Paris inspired by “Emily in Paris” season 4. 
• Scottish Highlands inspired by the remaining seasons of “Outlander.”  
• London, Bath and Windsor, UK inspired by the new season of “Bridgerton” and “The Crown” season 6. 
• Korea inspired by “Squid Games” season 2. 
• Florida Keys & Bahamas inspired by the new Apple TV show “Bad Monkey.” 
• Australia inspired by both Baz Luhrmann’s “Faraway Downs” and the Mad Max prequel Furiosa.” 
• Greece inspired by new spy action thriller “Argylle.” 

Expedia ‒ Destination Dupes: The “dupe” trend — affordable alternatives to popular products — that has flooded TikTok feeds is now taking over travel. Expedia’s 2024 destinations of the year are destination dupes — places that are a little unexpected, sometimes more affordable, and every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true destinations travelers love. 

The 2024 destination dupes all experienced a notable uptick in searchesⁱ over the past year. In fact, global searches for the Top 5 destinations on the list more than doubled YoY.** 

• Taipei (dupe for Seoul)  
• Pattaya (dupe for Bangkok) 

• Paros (dupe for Santorini) 
• Curaçao (dupe for St. Martin) 
• Perth (dupe for Sydney)  
• Liverpool (dupe for London) 
• Palermo (dupe for Lisbon) 
• Quebec City (dupe for Geneva)  
• Sapporo (dupe for Zermatt)  
• Memphis (dupe for Nashville) 

Discover why these Destination Dupes are worth the trip. 

Expedia ‒ Tour Tourism: In 2023, the cultural impact of the Eras and Renaissance tours was undeniable, driving ticket sales but also travel and tourism. Expedia predicts that Tour Tourism will continue to thrive in 2024. Nearly 70% of survey respondents say they are more likely to travel to a concert outside their own town, with over 40% saying they’d travel for a concert as an excuse to visit a new place. In a new twist to Tour Tourism perhaps driven by ticket prices, 30% of travelers say they would travel outside of their home city for a concert because tickets were cheaper elsewhere. Unexpected places on Expedia’s list of top tour tourism destinations are Kuala Lumpur, Edmonton, Canada, and Mexico City.  

See the rest of the list, created by analyzing hot 2024 tour stops along with accommodation costs.*** 

Gen Gen AI: While generative AI tools like ChatGPT took center stage in 2023, only 6% of travelers used it to plan their trip.ⁱⁱ In 2024, Expedia Group predicts the “generation of generative AI” travelers will come of age and fully embrace this tech throughout their travel journey. In fact, survey data reveals that half of travelers are interested in using generative AI to plan their next trip, and 1 in 3 say it’s very useful when making travel plans. 

What’s driving this trend? Generative AI’s ability to simplify planning and shopping through a conversation. Nearly 40% of travelers say they would use this tech to find the perfect stay, 35% would plan activities and things to do, 33% would compare flight options, and 20% of travelers would change or cancel their travel plans.  

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*Set-jetting stats:ⁱⁱⁱ  

• The first two seasons of “The White Lotus” drove a 300% increase in travel demand to Hawaii and Sicily.  
• Following the release of “Wednesday” on Netflix, Expedia saw a 150% increase in travel searches for Romania. 

• Expedia saw a 200% increase in searches to Paris after “Emily in Paris” debuted its previous season. 
• Searches for Richmond in London increased by 160% after season 2 of “Ted Lasso” aired, and they doubled after season 3 aired. U.S. fans accounted for 65% of searches, followed by Australians, Canadians, Brits and the Japanese. 
• Searches for Chicago increased by 45% following the first season of “The Bear.” 
• Searches for Norway increased by more than 65% after “Succession” aired its final season. 

**Destination Dupe stats: 

Percentage increase in flight searches YoY  

• Taipei (dupe for Seoul) – 2,786% 
• Pattaya (dupe for Bangkok) – 249% 
• Paros (dupe for Santorini) -193% 
• Curaçao (dupe for St. Martin) – 185% 
• Perth (dupe for Sydney) – 109% 
• Liverpool (dupe for London) – 97% 
• Palermo (dupe for Lisbon) – 89% 
• Quebec City (dupe for Geneva) – 60% 
• Sapporo (dupe for Zermatt) – 38% 
• Memphis (dupe for Nashville) – 16% 
   

***Tour Tourism stats: Expedia analyzed the average daily rates for accommodations in cities around the world with major arenas and music venues that will host the world’s hottest pop and rock stars in 2024. Below are 10 affordable destinations where fans can snag a hotel room for less than S$205/night on average — often less than the price of the concert ticket.^iv 

Some big-name artists who will be stopping in those cities on tour next year include: Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Metallica, Olivia Rodrigo, the Jonas Brothers and the Foo Fighters. 

Global List: 

• Kuala Lumpur – average hotel night S$124  

• Edmonton, Canada – average hotel night S$147 
• Mexico City, Mexico – average hotel night S$162 
• Warsaw, Poland – average hotel night S$162 
• Birmingham, UK – average hotel night S$173  
• Houston, Texas – average hotel night S$178  
• Antwerp, Belgium – average hotel night S$191 
• Tokyo, Japan – average hotel night S$201 
• Perth, Australia – average hotel night S$202  
• Detroit, Michigan – average hotel night S$203 

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Methodology: The research was conducted on behalf of Expedia Brands (Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo & Wotif) by OnePoll, a global strategic research firm. The survey was conducted online from September 12–October 5, 2023, across North and South America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific using an amalgamated group of best-in-class panels. The study was conducted among 20,000 respondents across 14 countries, among adults who are planning domestic or international travel in the next three years. OnePoll is an MRS (Market Research Society) Company Partner, has corporate membership of ESOMAR, and is a Member of the British Polling Council.