Flight-free travel company Byway expects 2024 to show “a significant shift toward travelling with the intent to make our planet a better place.” Byway saw a 254% increase in bookings for the year ending October 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, and in its 2024 Travel Trends report it predicts five ways holidaymakers may choose to travel flight-free next year. They include:
Travelling in PJs
Byway says Europe’s newest overnight rail links mean clients can “snooze in the comfort of an air conditioned sleeping car and wake up in a new country”. New Nightjet links for 2024 include Paris to Berlin, Warsaw to Salzburg, Berlin to Aachen, Erfurt to Brussels, Munich to Krakow, Brussels to Salzburg and Dresden to Budapest.
Off the beaten path
The report notes: “The classic city-break – and the overtourism that followed in places like Barcelona, Venice and Amsterdam – was the product of the discount airline market. But rail travel, unlike airports, isn’t tied to Europe’s big cities. So a stay in rural Piedmont in the Italian Alps nudges crowded Venice into the shadows, and today’s savvy traveller will know that Amsterdam has canal cities beyond Amsterdam (hello Delft and Utrecht).”
Cool-cations
The report states: “Climate change means that Europe’s seasons are altered, perhaps forever.” It highlights research that found last June, July and August were the warmest on record globally by a large margin, and predicts: “Cool-cationers are holidaying away from heat hotspots and high seasons,” noting that “the edge season is the best season to travel.”
Flight-free Europe
Byway predicts “millions of visitors from across the world will flock to Europe” next year, thanks to the 2024 Summer Olympics being hosted in Paris and the Euro 2024 tournament taking place across Germany. To encourage flight-free European travel, Byway has introduced carbon labelling for every trip, comparing it to travelling by plane.
Slow and soft
The report says slow travel ties in with the blossoming trend for “soft life”, which focuses on living a stress and struggle-free life. It says: “Both are about enjoyment on your own terms instead of doing what is expected of you (like sightseeing and bucket list trips) and both also have roots in community connection and living sustainably (avoiding the stress of airports is a nice bonus).”
The 2024 Travel Trends report also reveals the upcoming flight-free regions Byway will be releasing in the new year, including adventuring in Tunisia and beach holidays on Albania’s Riviera by ferry from Italy.
Customer trends
In September Byway surveyed 2,000 consumers with OnePoll, which found nearly half of UK travellers are already opting for flight-free travel or plan to this year. Two in five (43%) of UK holidaymakers would rather take a train, ferry or coach than fly, and Byway found this preference is “particularly strong” among 18 to 24-year-olds, 35 to 40-year-olds, and those aged 65 and over.
The research found 42% of UK holidaymakers want to find alternatives to flying in order to reduce their carbon footprint. This rises to 65% for Londoners and is highest among Gen Z travellers (61%) and 25 to 34-year-olds (54%).
Cat Jones, founder and chief executive, said: “We are really excited to see how sustainable travel has exploded into the mainstream this year, and expect to see this accelerated shift capture the hearts of the industry and travellers alike.”
