Trends In Cultural Tourism

750 Words3 Pages

Understanding the trends in the cultural tourism industry and consumer behavior is more vital than ever for travel agencies to stay competitive. This report has identified two crucial trends that WTS Travel & Tours Private Limited(WTS Travel) can capitalize on to stay ahead of the intense competition. Firstly, the growing importance of social media usage. Secondly, the adoption of Airbnb as a key accommodation for cultural tourists.

In our current hyper connected world, the increase in interactivity in the digital space has led to rise of social media. Social media is widely used by travelers for cultural tourism and travel products (Buhalis and Law 2008; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2010 as cited in Öz, 2015). Social media networking allows tourists …show more content…

Airbnb is becoming a great choice for cultural tourists as Airbnb is differentiated from traditional accommodation by delivering an experiential cultural travel experience in the local context(Roy, 2012 as cited in Nguyen, 2014). The experience of living in an Airbnb lodging provides travelers the opportunity to acquire a more ‘local’ perspective by living more like a local (Guttentag, 2013). Guttentag (2013) continues by saying that Airbnb allows cultural travelers to get in touch with their hosts and local people. Accordingly, Airbnb offers much of what cultural tourists are seeking, an authentic cultural experience. Airbnb is commonly seen as cheaper than hotels (Nguyen, 2014) and likewise, Airbnb lodgings are also usually less costly as compared to traditional accommodation (Guttentag, 2013). Since Airbnb provides benefits like staying in a local’s home and providing a local cultural experience, travel agencies can easily capture a large segment of cultural tourists looking for authentic cultural travel experience. Additionally, it can appeal to more cultural tourists as it helps them save on travelling costs and possibly open a new market for budget conscious cultural tourists. Hence, WTS travel should form a partnership with Airbnb to provide cheaper and localized places to stay instead of just working with expensive and commercialized

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