What is domestic travel?

Domestic travel is characterised by a trip where departure and arrival take place in the same country. This can include any category of travel, such as leisure or business, or even medical.

Domestic travel can also be undertaken via any mode of transport, again as long as the trip begins and ends in the same country.

Hoteliers will obviously be interested in overnight trips, but domestic travel does not have to include an overnight stay.

Domestic tourism definition

Domestic tourism’s definition is much the same as domestic travel, except it takes into account only those who are travelling for leisure. Think of sight-seers, day-trippers, families, romantic partners etc. Travellers will often take multiple domestic trips each year.

Domestic tourism example

An example of domestic tourism might be an American family travelling from another state to visit California and stay at Disneyland. Depending on where they are coming from, they may fly or drive to reach their destination. In this example, they’ll be focusing on leisure activities.

What is local or regional travel?

Local/regional travel can be interpreted in two different ways.

One is to talk about people exploring their own ‘backyards’, seeing places close to their home city and connecting to their own local culture. This form of travel is akin to a ‘staycation’.

Another way is to define it by the act of travellers connecting authentically with the local culture of the destination they are visiting. This applies to guests who want to ‘live like a local’ while they are holidaying.

What is interstate travel?

Interstate travel refers to when a traveller starts their trip in one state and arrives at their destination in another, crossing state borders. Just as with any domestic travel, their trip may be for any reason. The type of trip an interstate traveller takes will dictate how long they might stay at your accommodation.

Families are likely to stay for a week or more, while a business traveller is less predictable. They could be in and out within one day, or spend an extended amount of time depending on their purpose.

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Why is domestic tourism important?

Domestic tourism is one of the key foundations and lifelines of the hotel industry and the businesses that operate within it. Over 60% of travellers in the US travel domestically one to two times each year.

When international travel dips, or goes completely offline as we saw with COVID-19, hoteliers rely on domestic tourism to stay afloat.

For this reason, it’s always important to consider how you are marketing your property to domestic travellers, how many of your bookings are from the domestic market, and how ready you are to react to changes in the market.

It’s vital that small properties like yours:

  • Get control over their costs and finances
  • Gain insight into their local market trends and forecasts
  • Evaluate their historical sales and marketing strategies
  • Seek data on domestic travellers
  • Form new strategies appropriate for the current climate.

Main benefits of domestic tourism

Domestic tourism offers several advantages for hoteliers, including:

  • Opportunity to increase revenue: Domestic tourists are your bread and butter, so the more of your local market you can win, the less you’ll need to rely on international guests which may be harder to reach.
  • Lower marketing costs: Targeting domestic tourists often requires less marketing effort and expense compared to international markets.
  • Reduced risk: Domestic tourism is generally less affected by factors like global economic instability or visa restrictions, making it a more stable source of revenue.
  • Greater flexibility: Domestic guests will often have more wiggle room in their schedules, allowing hotels to deal with unforeseen circumstances easier.
  • Better chance for repeat business: Domestic tourists are more likely to return to the same destination, providing hotels with a steady stream of repeat business.

There’s also considerations such as easier communication and positive word-of-mouth that make the domestic market well worth pursuing.

Domestic travel trends 

The future of domestic travel looks bright, with projections saying that it will grow by 3% annually within this decade. 

Some of the common trends you are likely to see in your domestic travel market include:

1. Eco-tourism

Travellers are becoming more and more conscious of the dangers that the natural environment currently faces. To do their part, guests are seeking responsible and sustainable accommodations and also choosing to explore natural areas such as national parks.

2. Wellness and health retreats

Prioritising self-care has become a focus for many travellers and their families, meaning many trips will include opportunities for intense relaxation and rejuvenation.

3. Remote working

Post-COVID-19 working conditions allow for a lot more flexibility, allowing travellers to take a trip and still perform their duties. They may even opt to become a digital nomad, spending a lot of time in various locations and not so much at their usual place of residence.

4. A desire for the unique

Many travellers today want to spend their hard-earned money on a truly unique experience, looking for exclusivity or destinations that are hidden gems. In this way they can feel they are getting something many others are not.

5. Enthusiasm for the local area

Many domestic guests are passionate about supporting local businesses when they visit a destination, and so will be happy to purchase packages that include elements of this. They’ll also be keen to hear about recommendations from their hosts.

Most popular domestic travel destinations

The United States is the biggest contributor to the domestic travel market, providing $1 trillion in annual spending. In recent times, national parks have been very popular – Joshua Tree national park in particular, which broked visitor records in previous years. Of course, destinations such as New York City, Disneyland, and the Grand Canyon are always popular.

China is another huge domestic market, at $744 billion, with Changchun seeing a 160% increase in visitors last year. Other popular destinations commonly include The Great Wall, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Other countries with strong domestic numbers include Japan, India, Mexico, Germany, and France. India, in particular, is growing fast and could move into fourth by this year.

Domestic tourism in the UK

Domestic tourism in the UK is also performing strongly. Research has found that most Britons intending to travel this year plan to take a domestic trip, with more than half to take between two and four trips.

Almost half like to enjoy city breaks and 47% look forward to trips that combine relaxation and sightseeing.

Some of the most popular domestic destinations in the UK include London, the Scottish Highlands, and the Lake District.

domestic travel

Types of domestic trips and holidays

For accommodation businesses to identify prospective markets, it’s useful to understand the many different trip types that have traditionally taken place and those that may be taking place in the current environment.

One that could prove very popular is the staycation. A staycation is characterised by a traveller taking a break from the hustle and bustle to rediscover their own backyards. These trips are quick, convenient, and cost-effective – the need to balance professional and personal responsibilities makes it increasingly difficult for the average traveller to go on the trip of their dreams. This is why a quick road trip or even a stay in their own city for the weekend can offer a good alternative for the time-poor.

 It’s also a chance to unearth hidden gems in smaller locations, which can be exciting.

Considerations:

  • ‘Staycationers’ are probably going to be more resourceful when it comes to finding the best places to eat, drink, or visit in the local area. They won’t be going to coffee shops they can find in their hometowns – instead, they’ll be following local food and event bloggers. It’s these types of outlets that boutiques need to develop relationships with to promote their properties credibly.
  • Make your promotion relevant – Constantly promoting your own property with the same messaging will get stale quite quickly and travellers won’t be interested. Instead, they’ll be looking for things to do and places to go once they arrive at your location. You can easily provide them with this, based on a vast amount of existing ready-made content. Source the local newspaper, event websites, and regional blogs for fun ideas. Not only will this give you great content for your website and social media feeds, it will help generate interest for the local community.
  • Make the most of local events and experiences – Festivals and roadshows are fantastic opportunities to amplify your domestic marketing efforts. You can highlight local points of interest with Instagram-worthy photos. Also think about creating special packages or discounts around them, or throw in some extras that might set you apart from your competition. You may also want to contact local tour operators and activity-based companies to see if you can work together to create packages that appeal to your audience demographic.

A full range of other trips taking place include:

  • Extended road trips
  • Weekend getaways (couples, families, adventurers)
  • Family holidays (summer breaks, family road trips)
  • Seasonal holidays (new peak seasons, e.g fall instead of summer in the US)
  • Solo adventures (adventures, retreats, spiritual journey)
  • Couples’ honeymoons or anniversaries
  • Conferences/meetings
  • Events (Exhibitions, Trade)
  • Travelling sales trips
  • Organised tours

You need to carefully plan which groups might be coming to your area and market accordingly.

How to attract domestic travellers to your property

Planning, skill, and luck have all played a part in attracting guests after the COVID-19 pandemic. The reason luck is mentioned is because location and experience will be a huge factor for some travellers.

Many are seeking wellness packages and spiritual refreshment after an unprecedented period of unsettlement in their life. Most properties that can offer this are outside of major cities, in rural locations, but urban properties should consider the opportunities they have to offer this type of experience – perhaps in the form of extended yoga or meditation sessions or similar wellness activities.

Other travellers will have revenge on their mind – they’ll travel aggressively to have as much fun as they can, catching up on the time and experiences they lost while in social isolation.

Yet another group will be those who are extremely budget conscious when they travel.

Owners and managers need to look very closely at what travellers might be coming to their area, what these travellers are looking for, and what services the business can provide.

Take into account:

  • An emphasis on cleanliness and hygiene – Travellers will naturally be health conscious when they travel in the immediate future so you need to make assurances your business is undertaking best practice in this area.
  • New approaches to shared spaces (lobby, bar, restaurant, pool etc) – Overcrowding should be avoided at all costs as many guests will be concerned about this. Again, assurances will need to be made that you have this under control.
  • Desire for contactless check-in, room entry, room service etc – These are requests that travellers have been leaning towards for some time prior to the pandemic, but will become much more of a demand now. Not only will it save the guest time and inconvenience, it will now make them feel safer.
  • Increased demand for wellness services and amenities – The psychological effects of a global event like this shouldn’t be understated. Travellers will be looking for body and soul restoration, to feel healthy, clean, and normal again. Many will be eager to escape the surroundings they have just spent in lockdown to find calmer experiences.
  • Surge in adventure/active holidays – Being cooped up for weeks and months on end will have travellers craving adventure, exploration, and fun new experiences. Look at what packages you can offer for this group. It’s the perfect time to connect with local companies to broaden your offering.
  • Slowdown of business travel – With remote working taking centre stage during the pandemic lockdown, the volume of business travel may be limited for some time to come. For many sectors, working virtually will save money and increase the safety of workers. In saying that, it’s still prudent to prepare for incoming corporate business if this is a market that’s traditionally been applicable to you.

If you think about domestic leisure travellers and the guests you’ve housed in the past, you’ll find many of their preferences will be similar, but amplified.

Traditionally leisure travellers are:

Price savvy
In general, the leisure traveller wants the best deal for their stay. Families in particular will want value for their money. In the wake of Coronavirus this will be even more important. They’ll want their money to go as far as possible and also be close by to everything they’ve been missing out on, such as your amenities, restaurants, and local attractions.

Review sensitive
Reviews about your property may start to take a different shape in this changed world. Potential guests will be on the lookout for comments on cleanliness of the property, hygiene practices, and the health standards of staff. With rigid hygiene proving to be effective in reducing risk of infection, guests won’t want to take any risks.

Package hungry
Leisure travellers are always looking for ways to enhance their experience and packages are an easy way to get valuable add-ons. What will appeal to them after Coronavirus? Perhaps look at whether you can offer private dining experiences, time slots for exclusive use of amenities, upgrades to automate services such as room service, or more frequent housekeeping.

Facilities users
Pools, evening entertainment and kids clubs for those travelling with children will be more appealing to the leisure traveller. With some concern around public places likely to remain, travellers will be keen to enjoy as much as they can on their trip, especially people travelling with children or the elderly.

To be successful, it is important to understand the needs and wants of your guests. Ensure you always address social distancing and cleanliness concerns.

Driving demand for local travellers at your property

Revenue management has always been important, increasingly so in recent years. It’s a practice that has constantly evolved and will be forced to continue this trend. Managers will now have to become data managers, mastering analysis that help their property decide what to focus on. Intuition is valuable, especially since no one can accurately predict what might happen, but data doesn’t lie and should lead decision making.

It’s important you identify what data will give you the best insights and what intelligence tools you can access to watch for signs of activity in your area. Monitoring your peers will also prove to be very useful during this period of change. Real-time data is vital for tracking what is happening right now and allowing you to react. In this respect, monitoring data should be a process that is always turned on.

Work hard to think creatively and look for opportunities beyond your traditional scope. Travellers will have a large volume of choice so you have to stand out.

Factors to keep in mind:

  • OTAs/wholesalers will still be valuable partners since they continue to offer unparalleled reach and significant demand will be driven through these channels upon recovery.
  • Focus your attention on your direct channel. With direct bookings being commission-free it’s important to capture as many of these profitable reservations as possible and start owning your guest relationships.
  • Make it easy to book in advance and think about entertaining flexible rates that guests may be able to take advantage of.
  • Start playing with metasearch to give yourself maximum visibility on Google when travellers begin their search for accommodation.
  • Market your destination and its advantages, not just your property.
  • Build out different offers to suit both short and long term travellers. Consider offering gift vouchers or vouchers for future stays to generate cash-flow.

Thinking about what audience will be most likely to drive demand; all the signs point towards millennials and baby boomers.

Reasons for short-term travel: Don’t ignore the corporate market completely

There are many reasons travellers will undertake a short domestic trip. Weekend getaways are very popular but they could be travelling for family or medical reasons, or for a short business trip.

Short-term business trips are very common and while this market may be reduced in the near future, it should still be on your radar. How well business travel bounces back will be highly dependent on the sector.

Traditionally, concerns for business travellers have centred on:

Location

Ideally, the business traveller needs to be close to where their conference or meeting is held or close to the venue or site they are visiting. They do not want to waste time travelling to and from the venue. This could be even more important if business travellers start to take alternative modes of transport, with the high risks and costs associated with flights.

Connection

Business travellers want to remain connected to their clients and colleagues during their business trip and require constant access to important files and emails. A fast and reliable internet connection is non-negotiable.

Loyalty program

Many business travellers will stay at the same establishments each time they take a trip, and enjoy receiving preferred rates and a guaranteed standard of comfort and service. 

Amenities

Business travellers need to prepare for their work in the morning, and amenities like breakfast, coffee machine, iron and ironing board are essential for morning prep. It’s also important they can have access to workspaces in their room or elsewhere in the property, car parking, travel plans in the form of taxis, and more.

By Dean Elphick

Dean is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist of Little Hotelier, the all-in-one software solution purpose-built to make the lives of small accommodation providers easier. Dean has made writing and creating content his passion for the entirety of his professional life, which includes more than six years at Little Hotelier. Through content, Dean aims to provide education, inspiration, assistance, and, ultimately, value for small accommodation businesses looking to improve the way they run their operations (and live their life).