Explorism Is The New Tourism - 2009 Longhaul Report Confirms New Trends In Longhaul Holidays

Research by leading tour operator Kuoni has confirmed that today’s travellers are looking for much more personal fulfilment from their holiday than just a two-week package in the sun. They are looking for an enriching experience to complement and enhance their lifestyle every time they go away.

Nick Hughes, Kuoni’s managing director, said: “Travel is no longer just a holiday choice. It impacts our lifestyle, stimulates our wellbeing and influences our fashion, design and food choices. Kuoni customers really want to delve deeply under the skin of their destination, to explore further and experience more. We call this growing trend Explorism and we believe it is the new tourism.”

In terms of where people travel, results show that Maldives holidays was the top-selling for 2008, followed by Thailand, Egypt, America and Dubai. Looking ahead, New Zealand and St Lucia are new entrants into the top 20 for 2009.

To discover more about why people holiday, the company conducted research among 1400 customers in December. Key findings of the Mind, Body and Soul research concluded that customers are looking for more than simply visiting a destination to tick it off the list. The majority of people confirmed that they now want more active participation, with 26 per cent choosing stimulating the mind as their first choice and 33 per cent picking nurturing the body. Under the stimulating the mind banner, the highest rated activities included visiting local cultural event and seeing the sites with an expert. Meanwhile., for ‘nurturing the body’ spa and beauty treatments were most sought after and for the soul it was sampling the local cuisine.

Contact Information

Anne-Marie Hansen

Kuoni UK Public Relations Manager

Kuoni Travel

Contact via E-mail