Pinterest recently released a report into the 2024 summer travel trends they expect to see over the next few months based on user search data.
We love any chance to dig into data, and, much like our deep dive into the Tiktok Valentine's Day report, we wanted to look at whether the trends were platform agnostic, or whether there were learnings for travel brands based on how people use digital and social channels to plan their holidays.
We took 3 Pinterest trends and compared their data to what we have available across other platforms, such as TikTok and Google Trends.
Why those platforms, you ask?
Great question. Firstly, they have great data resources that are publicly available for trending topics, keywords and searches. Secondly, and arguably more importantly, they serve different moments in the purchase journey.
Generally speaking, TikTok and Pinterest are platforms for entertainment and inspiration, whereas Google serves as an entry point to start a booking journey. In other words, we wanted to know whether people putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to trending travel.
Let’s dive in…
A quick summary of the Pinterest 2024 travel trends report:
In the report, Pinterest positions itself as a major source of travel inspiration, with over 1 billion travel-related searches and 10 billion saves in a year, with 8 out of 10 weekly Pinterest users relying on the platform for planning their summer trips.
Wellness travel is predicted to dominate in 2024 - searches for quiet and calm places have surged, reflecting a desire for tranquillity and digital detox
Solo travel, where travellers can focus on personal growth and reflection (‘Eat, Pray, Love’, anyone?)
Adventure travel, including activities like mountaineering and safari lodges, is on the rise post-pandemic
Interest in mysterious destinations has grown, with travellers looking for a blend of wonder, adventure and the unexplored
Gen Z travellers are turning to road trips for affordable and spontaneous travel experiences with friends
A few notes on the data, before we dive into it…
Pinterest doesn’t give a timeline for the data they’ve used, so we’ve looked at 120 days of data for TikTok (the maximum available), and 5-year trends for Google Trends
It’s also not clear whether the Pinterest data is global or UK-based, but we’ve chosen the UK for our research to make it most relevant to you, dear reader
Calm travel
Pinterest tells us to “say goodbye to crowded cities and hello to off-the-beaten-path destinations that promise tranquillity and self-discovery”, trending searches for which include “wellness retreats” and “glamping”.
Perhaps it’s a reflection of the userbase of Pinterest compared to TikTok, but this trend certainly isn’t reflected on TikTok, where trending searches in the UK for the travel industry include Rome and City Break, as well as very much not-off-the-beaten-path locations such as Disneyland and Benidorn.
Google agrees. City Breaks is the top related query within the Travel topic, alongside beach breaks, and “Glamping” searches have been on the decline post-pandemic, peaking in 2020.
So in this instance, it’s pinning > purchase.
Adventure travel
The total antithesis of the previous trend, this one is about “seeking exhilaration, a reconnection with nature and a departure from the mundane”. Sounds great.
One of the biggest increases in searches on Pinterest within the topic was “Water park rides” (+144%), which does align with TikTok’s trending topics, where we see rollercoaster, theme parks and Thorpe Park. So does the trend translate to tickets? We compared the terms “Water park”, “theme park” and “rollercoaster” on Google Trends, and all of these agree with Pinterest, trending slightly upwards following a low pandemic.
However, there’s an argument to be made that it’s too early in the year to assess whether they’re truly kicking off, as we see searches increasing throughout the summer when children are on their holidays and in need of entertainment. It’s also worth noting that these are very much weather-dependent, so whilst the desire might be there on Pinterest or TikTok, a rainy summer might derail the trend.
One to keep an eye on in the summer…
Solo travel
Travellers looking to have their “Eat Pray Love” moment are flooding to Pinterest to plan their perfect opportunity for “personal growth and reflection” according to the report, and this trend is translating to intent over on Google Trends.
Just look at that trend line on the graph below!
How does TikTok feel about travelling solo?
It’s not one of the trending hashtags for the travel industry, but it does have thousands of videos dedicated to the subject, including this clip with 1.3m views declaring 2024 the year of solo travel. This was shared the same week as the spike in searches at the start of 2024 on Google. Causation or correlation? Hard to say. But we would say Pinterest has nailed this trend, and travel brands should be looking at how to engage audiences around some of the following popular subjects across Google/TikTok:
Location guides for solo travel
Safety tips for solo travel
Female-focused trips
Travel Trends 2024 - In conclusion
It’s always a good idea to compare multiple data sources, as consumer behaviour differs across different channels, depending on where they are in their purchase journey.
Whilst Pinterest is a brilliant platform for inspiration and planning, it’s not where people actively go to book a holiday. This means these trends ultimately may stay in the realm of the aspirational, rather than driving real-world booking, and TikTok might be a slightly more accurate place to dig around if you’re looking for trends or topics to inform your content planning.
Like this? Get in touch to see what research we can do for you.
