Global travelers, particularly those from younger generations, are looking for much more than just utility and a bit of shopping when they visit the airport. Findings from the latest round of "Airport Experience" research, a comprehensive study of more than 9,000 travelers conducted by global airport lounge and experience specialists Airport Dimensions, highlight the growing appetite for new experiences. All respondents in the survey are classed as regular travelers, defined as those who have taken a minimum of two return trips in the last 12 months.
The data demonstrates altered spending patterns and explores the way airports need to develop if they want to increase the satisfaction of travelers and protect and grow revenue accordingly.
The study called "AX24: The Age of the Airport Experience" surveyed travelers about their current journey through the airport, how satisfied they are and what changes they would introduce in order to improve their experience. The study also takes a deep dive into their spending habits and consumption behavior across the airport journey. This research is the latest installment of an annual study of traveler behavior that Airport Dimensions has been conducting for the last 10 years.
The 2024 study revealed that overall, travelers expected 8 percent growth in their travel over the next 12 months, led by a strong return to travel in emerging markets and maintained primarily by Millennial and Gen Z travelers. Travelers in mature markets expected slower growth over the next year in comparison to emerging markets, many of which are still enjoying a post-pandemic rebound.
The research also identifies some key areas in which traveler expectations are changing, creating both challenges and significant opportunities for airports, as well as the brands looking to grow by attracting more business from travelers.
Pivot to New Experiences
The travelers of today and tomorrow are looking for new and better experiences. The "AX24" research shows that older travelers are still looking to spend on utilities that make the journey easier and more efficient for them. Older travelers are more than twice as likely than younger travelers to spend on areas such as airport parking. Younger segments, however, significantly outperform their seniors when it comes to spending on new services and experiences with the growing popularity of new services such as sleep suites (11 percent of discretionary spend), gaming (5 percent) and wellness and grooming (9 percent). The pivot to prioritizing experience is reflected throughout the findings, as all segments reported the desire to spend less time shopping and browsing stores (13 percent), preferring to visit dining and bar options (15 percent) and, increasingly, airport lounges before boarding their flight.
Seventy-one percent and 70 percent of all respondents would like both a single app for all services and more lounge access, respectively. This trend highlights the growing importance and influence of new digital services for improving passenger experiences. These findings, however, do not diminish passenger expectations for the basics. For instance, 83 percent of travelers want better seating and 79 percent want to see less queues.
That said, new experiences supplied in isolation don’t necessarily translate to increased traveler satisfaction as the research reveals overall satisfaction fell two points to 70 percent over the last year.
Retail Revolution
When it comes to their discretionary airport spend, travelers are increasingly looking to spend on better dining (15 percent), more lounge access (13 percent) and new experiences such as sleep suites and pods (9 percent). This comes at the expense of spending on traditional retail. Forty percent of travelers, however, say they would spend more if there was price parity between airport and high street pricing, and 32 percent want to see on and off airport price comparisons. Gen Z travelers were the most enthusiastic when it came to spending on shopping activities, opening up new shopping formats and experiences for airports to bolster revenue streams.
Evidently, there is an opportunity for retailers to continue to enhance the retail experience with concepts like walk-through duty-free remaining popular, with 53 percent of travelers saying that they would like to see more of it. Furthermore, 48 percent of respondents would like to see more branded showrooms. Integrating retail with airport lounges is important for travelers, with 48 percent stating the desire for in-lounge retail and 50 percent wanting to see more hybrid retail lounges sponsored by leading brands (50 percent).
Lounge Demand Is Growing and Democratizing
Lounge access is the new democratic travel luxury, with its popularity as a travel benefit showing no signs of slowing down (led by airport experiences program Priority Pass). In the markets surveyed, 30 percent of our travelers said they paid directly to access a lounge, following the trend of seeking out and paying for a better airport experience. Indeed, travelers continue to value lounge access, with 70 percent saying more options to lounge access would improve their time at the airport.
Once exclusively the domain of the business traveler, the research highlights an increased emphasis on leisure and lifestyle for lounge guests. Facilities to pre-book the lounge has grown in importance, ranking even higher than parking among traveler priorities. Lounges' food and beverage proposition also holds key influence, with 79 percent of travelers ranking in lounge F&B as a more important factor when considering access purchase than the cost of lounge entry and 61 percent willing to pay for premium food and beverage options once in the lounge.
Lounge guests value digital services, as well, with 86 percent of travelers saying access to flight information and 80 percent saying F&B ordering is important for them. But digital in-lounge also opens up opportunities for new spend. Sixty-one percent would likely spend on additional F&B and over half of lounge guests (52 percent) are interested in shopping at airport stores from the lounge. The link to airport retail is supported by very strong levels of interest for brand sponsored lounge experiences, with 77 percent of guests saying they would like sampling of high-end beverage or food brands.
Source: Airport Dimensions
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