IMG Releases Annual Travel Outlook Survey Results for 2024
- Written by: iPMI Global
IMG (International Medical Group), an award-winning global insurance benefits and assistance services company, has released the results of its annual Travel Outlook Survey that asked IMG customers about their 2024 travel plans.
The survey reveals that 96% of respondents plan to travel internationally in 2024, which is a continued increase over the last three years. Travelers are also planning on taking more international trips (in total) throughout the year, with 47% of respondents planning to travel internationally 3+ times in 2024, a 3% increase compared to 2023 survey results.
When asked about domestic U.S. travel plans for the year, 85% of respondents have at least one domestic trip planned in 2024, with 49% planning to travel domestically 3+ times during the year.
“It’s always exciting to hear firsthand from our customers how they plan to travel in the coming year so that we can identify evolving travel trends and continue to support them while they're away from home,” said Steve Paraboschi, IMG President and CEO. “While many thought ‘revenge travel’ was just a phenomenon of the past few years, we're continuing to see a growing demand for international and domestic travel in 2024, and IMG is poised to meet that demand with our award-winning travel and health safety solutions.”
Travel Outlook Survey Findings:
When ranking concerns about planning or taking a trip, survey results show that getting sick or having an accident during a trip continues to be the top concern for travelers in 2024. The second most concerning factor for travelers is needing to cancel their trip before leaving.
- Getting sick or having an accident while at your destination
- Needing to cancel your trip before you depart
- Issues getting to or from your destination
- Needing to interrupt your trip while at your destination
In 2023, there was a significant increase in travelers taking more expensive trips, and we expect this trend to continue as 58% of respondents plan to spend the same amount on travel in 2024 as they did in 2023. Another 28% of respondents said they plan to spend even more on travel this year than they did last year.
One emerging trend in 2024 is that travelers are increasingly taking food and cuisine options into consideration when choosing their next destination. According to survey results, activities, events, and attractions are most important to people when traveling, and cuisine was ranked as the second most important factor.
In 2024, 50% of all respondents are planning to travel for business. Of those respondents, 78% plan to participate in "bleisure travel," combining business and leisure travel, by adding personal vacation time before or after at least one business trip.
“For many years, we've provided assistance and insurance options to employers that allow them to meet duty of care standards for employees traveling for business, but the rise in 'bleisure travel' adds a new consideration for business travelers to ensure the leisure portion of their trip is properly protected,” said Justin Poehler, IMG Chief Commercial Officer. “IMG’s iTravedlInsured Travel Series offers travel protection plans designed to provide the coverage and confidence travelers need.”
Another increasingly popular travel trend in 2024 is multigenerational travel. Results show that 35% of families have a domestic or international trip planned with multiple generations (children, parents, and grandparents, etc.).
The most popular destinations respondents plan to travel to next in 2024 include Canada, Mexico, Japan, Italy, Spain, and Thailand—making the list for the first time since 2021.
