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Travel agents are rising to customers’ demands for a digital service, while ‘slow’ travel is becoming more important to people – and both will be top trends for 2020, according to ABTA’s latest research.

ABTA’s Travel Trends 2020 report, which comes out today, identifies slow travel and demand for a digital service as two main trends for next year.

Holidaymakers are seeking a variety of ways to get support during the online booking process, ABTA says. Many travel companies, including TUI, Hays Travel and Travel Counsellors are adopting a multi-channel approach to personalise their service for customers – including building specialist social media customer service teams, announcing multi-million pound technology upgrades and speaking directly to them via messenger apps.

An emerging trend of ‘slow travel’, meanwhile, is seeing holidaymakers choosing to slow down the tempo and experience destinations on a deeper level – making more genuine connections with local people and cultures along the way. "Slow travel" is as much about enjoying the journey as it is the destination, and a less packed itinerary takes the pressure off having to visit all the usual tourist hotspots. With more time in one destination, it can potentially reduce the journey footprint and provide travellers with the chance to support more locally run businesses – resulting in a positive impact on the local economy and community.

The Travel Trends 2020 report is based on market information and consumer insights, highlighting ABTA’s 12 destinations to watch and revealing five key trends expected to shape holiday choices in 2020.

After a strong year in 2019, the package holiday also looks set to maintain its appeal in 2020, with value for money expected one of the main reasons for choosing this type of holiday.

ABTA research shows that travel is a spending priority for the year ahead, with over a quarter of people (27%) planning to spend more on their holiday, up from 25% who said the same last year^.

Europe still tops the list of places people intend to travel to in the next 12 months, with almost two-thirds of people (57%) planning to visit.

Closer to home, following a record-breaking number of overnight trips from January to July 2019, domestic holidays are expected to perform well once more in the year ahead.

ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer said: "With so many political uncertainties ahead, such as the shape of the new government and the outcome of the Brexit process, it is difficult to predict with certainty what 2020 will bring, however, we do know that travel is still a spending priority for the year ahead.

"In last year’s report, we also predicted that 2019 would be the year that sustainability issues would go mainstream and that has proved to be the case, with a spotlight thrown on climate change in particular."

Among the other key trends outlined in the report is an increased focus on the specific impacts of tourism, with consumers becoming increasingly aware of the environmental and social impact of their holidays.

Personalised tourism is also set to become a trend, with travel companies developing new types of flexible and immersive touring products.

More focus on electric aviation is the fifth trend ABTA has identified, saying: "The future for electric aircraft looks bright, both for leisure and business travel."

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