First there was Black Friday – then Cyber Monday.
Now, business-hungry consumers have a reason to buy online for a day longer. “Travel Tuesday” – the primary Tuesday after the American Thanksgiving holiday – is geared toward those on the lookout for discounts on travel, not flat-screen TVs.
According to a report published by, search interest for “Travel Tuesday” increased by greater than 500% from 2021 to 2023 McKinsey & Company on Thursday.
Searches are highest amongst American and Canadian consumers, but interest can be increasing in Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain, in keeping with McKinsey.
Google Trends supports this, showing that searches for “Travel Tuesday” began in November 2017, declined throughout the pandemic and rose sharply in 2022 and 2023, primarily in North America, Western Europe and Australia.
“European travel companies can expect Travel Tuesday to become a growing phenomenon in their region,” says the McKinsey report.
With the exception of Singapore, Travel Tuesday has not yet caught on in Asia, the report said, which could also be because of the regional popularity of China's “Singles' Day” – a week-long sales period that peaks on November 11 annually .
But that doesn't stop Asian firms from getting involved within the sale to achieve a world clientele.
Kristen Jennings Graff, Head of Sales and Marketing at Lower reservean eco-resort within the Riau Islands in Indonesia, said their company launched its first “Travel Tuesday” promotion in 2023.
“We had an offer where you could choose – upgrade, discount or a free flight,” she said. “It gave us good sales.”
Flights, hotels and cruises
McKinsey’s report titled “Travel Tuesday is real – and growing“showed that hotel, flight and cruise bookings by American travelers skyrocketed on “Travel Tuesday” last yr, which took place on November 28, 2023.
According to the report, flight bookings increased by greater than 60% on the day and cruise bookings increased by greater than 50% in comparison with the two-week period before and after.
Hotel bookings also increased by 28%, although they were barely exceeded by bookings made the day before, Cyber Monday, in keeping with the report. Searches for “Cyber Monday” are far greater than “Travel Tuesday,” but interest in the previous is declining, it was revealed.
“Travel bookings made on Travel Tuesday exceeded those made on Cyber Monday,” said Ryan Mann, a partner in McKinsey’s travel, logistics and infrastructure practice and certainly one of the report’s authors.
However, Mann warns that Travel Tuesday may not do for the travel industry what Black Friday did for retail.
On each dates, consumers are on the lookout for the perfect deals, he said. “But unlike some impulse purchases consumers make on Black Friday, travel bookings may require more planning.”
Those willing to book can get discounts on airfares, cruises and travel packages. Many hotels offer 20-30% off the perfect available rates. Travelers can take a look at “Travel Tuesday” offers from 2023 to get an idea of what to anticipate this yr.
A portion of year-end expenses
With rising travel costs and inflationary pressures, finding a very good deal is a top priority for travelers.
According to McKinsey, a day put aside for travel discounts could be a win for travelers and a chance for firms to extend revenue at a time when there is often a lull in bookings. Late November/early December is usually considered too late for winter bookings and too early for summer bookings, the report said.
It is also a method to preserve a number of the end-of-year holiday spending, which has long been dominated by physical gifts.
According to non-public finance company WalletHub's 2024 Winter Travel Survey, greater than half of Americans (58%) say they like to spend their money on travel fairly than shopping.
A 2024 global Amex Trendex survey of greater than 13,000 adults earning at the very least $50,000 a yr found that about one in three respondents said they plan to supply an “experience” for a spouse or their children. For friends, the speed rose even higher: According to the survey, almost 70% said they’d fairly give the gift of an experience or trip than a cloth gift.
According to the Amex survey released in September, entertainment (59%) and travel (54%) were the preferred experiences.
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