Where Travellers (Don’t) Look for Unique Experiences

In the age of social media, travel blogs and documentaries, it has become harder to experience something few people have experienced before when going on vacation. However, many tourists aren't looking for anything unique when booking their holidays. A recent Statista Consumer Insights survey shows that across 21 countries surveyed, an average of 38 percent of respondents are looking for unique experiences when traveling. Looking at selected country profiles, the deviation from the average is sometimes very significant.

For example, 54, 50 and 46 percent of respondents from South Africa, India and China, respectively, search for something unique when they're traveling. Residents of some of the world's biggest economies like Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom have less appetite for one-of-a-kind adventures, with 39, 36 and 34 percent of survey participants claiming to look for something special in their trips. At the lowest end of the spectrum are Italy (29 percent), the Netherlands (28 percent) and Japan (27 percent).

According to data by UN Tourism, global international tourist arrivals have started to recover from their coronavirus-induced dip in 2020 and 2021, although overall numbers are still below 2019 figures. In 2023, 1.3 billion arrivals were recorded against 1.5 billion in 2019. In terms of tourism expenditure, China led the world in 2023 with $197 billion spent, followed by the United States ($150 billion), Germany ($112 billion) and the United Kingdom ($110 billion). Overall, receipts by inbound international tourists, including flights, stood at $1.5 trillion, slightly above the numbers for 2019. However, this is most likely connected to price increases for flights, accommodation and activities due to ongoing global crises and their effect on macroeconomics.