Traveler behaviors at airports, preferences and emerging trends

According to Booking.com in its study Airport Travel Habits and Statistics, the majority of people surveyed travel by plane between 1 and 3 times a year (58%). It is a combination of vacations, business trips or visits to friends and family.

How are the delays at airports around the world?

If you travel to Italy, be patient. Our research reveals that this is the country with the highest number of delays, with 45% of people experiencing delays in the last 12 months. If we look at the money invested in a trip, those people who spend between 1,133 and 2,265 EUR are the most likely to be delayed. Those who travel 1-3 times a year are also more likely to have more delays than more frequent travelers.

In addition, we have discovered that the reason for the trip also influences the probability of being delayed. People traveling to visit family and friends experienced the fewest delays, which could be because those flights were domestic or short-haul. As a result, the US travel community, where the majority of travel is domestic, has been the least prone to delays (26%).

How are the delays by type of traveler?
People who travel for work are the ones who experience the most delays at airports, with 52% affected by delays in the last 12 months.

After business travel, it's hobby travelers (46%) and explorers (43%) who are most likely to encounter delays.

What areas of the airport are used the most?

When it comes to airport facilities (and specifically its eating places), interesting facts have been discovered about how people spend their time and money eating.

Canadians and Australians eat the most at airports (72%). If we look at Europe, there is less of a tendency to spend time in airport restaurants. Only 45% of Germans (the lowest percentage surveyed) use these facilities.

Shopping in duty free stores is very attractive, with 57% of people saying they buy while waiting for their flight.

Over a quarter (27%) of travelers use airport sleeping areas. Unless the flight has an overnight connection, presumably most people will prefer to wait to sleep on the plane. Could it be that people would rather have a dream than be tempted to spend money? Our survey suggests that, in any case, there would be a need for investment in airport rest areas.

The travel community wants faster, greener and more comfortable airports

When it comes to improvements, the highest priority for people traveling is speeding up security checks (45%). Additionally, an additional 18% wish there was a slow line at security for people who are not prepared. Nearly half of people who fly for pleasure (48%) or to visit family and friends (46%) would like to be able to get through security a little faster.

There are other very important aspects, such as having free water (40%) and parking at a more reasonable price (43%). Offering pumps to refill reusable water bottles and more affordable prices for parking (with the consequent reduction of cars waiting outside the airport) could help reduce the use of plastics and pollution at the airport. It stands to reason that people traveling for educational or discovery reasons are interested in minimizing single-use purchases and having free water (48%), as are backpackers who often travel light with reusable water bottles.

It is curious that those who travel to rest and relax are the most interested in having shorter queues (40%), perhaps to make their experience at the airport as smooth as possible. They are also the least interested in having more charging points for their electronic devices (19%), which could reflect a desire to "disconnect".

Of the 14 areas for improvement noted in the survey, finding decent sleeping facilities was ranked 5th. 28% of the people surveyed want to have more possibilities to sleep at the airport. People who travel for work are the ones with the least interest in sleeping areas.

Regardless of the reason for the trip, the two areas where there seems to be the least need for improvement are the shops and the flight information screens; two aspects that seem to be up to par in airports.

Some of the suggested solutions focus on helping travelers use their personal devices, increasing the number of charging points (24%) and improving airport Wi-Fi (26%).

How much do people who travel spend at the airport?

Although we know that in airports some products are more expensive (such as sun cream or food/drinks), most people like to go into duty free shops looking for bargains, especially devices.

The traveling community spends more money on new electronic devices (EUR 69.73 on average); something logical considering that they will surely use them during the trip. Business travelers are top spenders across all sectors, but especially in technology, spending an average of €164.78 on new electronic devices.

Leisure travelers spend the least money, spending the highest on electronics (EUR 53.27) and the lowest on toiletries (EUR 16.08), which they probably bought well in advance of their vacation .

Food, souvenirs and perfumes are also areas where people tend to spend more. We have found that the Spanish travel community spends more money on food (64.15 EUR) and souvenirs (68.68 EUR) compared to other countries. On the other hand, the German population is more interested in perfumes (67.06 EUR) and also spends more on reading material, such as books and magazines, with an average of 32.74 EUR.

Could the airports of the future become centers of work and leisure?

Having the option to choose what they would like to see in the airports of the future, many people who travel have opted for activities to pass the time. 20% of the people surveyed think that cinemas would be a good option at the airport and some even consider putting ice skating rinks (4%) and swimming pools (8%).

A quarter of those who travel (25%) would like to see more green spaces in airports, surely looking for some beauty in these places that are usually functional and quite gray. Some airports have already invested in gardens (enclosed, covered, or even on the roof), such as Singapore's Changi Airport, which is home to 10 gardens. Spending time in nature has been shown to have a positive impact on mood, so a touch of green could help tackle some of the more stressful aspects of travel.

That being said, is it possible for airports to become centers of work and leisure instead of just transitional spaces? With more entertainment options for leisure travelers and a greater focus on creating attractive spaces, airports could be seen as places to spend time, not just wait. The interest in virtual assistants (13%), virtual queues (17%) and touchscreen purchases (16%) could suggest that simplifying certain airport processes would give people more time to spend on leisure.

And for people who travel for work, the integration of specific work zones is something that almost a quarter of people who travel (24%) would like to see in the future. This could lead to more productive and enjoyable work trips.

How much money do airports lose to those who avoid shopping in duty free stores?

It is not unreasonable to think that people looking for more entertainment options at airports are delighted to shop at duty free stores. But is it possible that the improvements mentioned above could encourage those who avoid duty free shops to make this type of purchase?

In 2022, the Atlanta GA International Airport was the busiest based on the number of passengers: it received 75,704,760 people. Based on figures indicating that 18.11% of passengers avoid duty free shops, it is estimated that the Atlanta airport lost a potential value of EUR 483,984,112 in sales, due to these more thrifty people.

If we compare these numbers to Dubai International Airport (the busiest in 2022 based on international passenger traffic alone), the amount of potential money lost drops to €186,105,500. It's still a huge sum, but less than half that of Atlanta.

In fact, the seven busiest airports (not just focusing on international traffic) were mostly in the US (with two exceptions in China). It could be said that, although these airports have the most traffic, most of it is national, which means that people have less need to buy souvenirs and travel accessories (duty free sales being the biggest losers).

Conclusion
Frequent travelers know how frustrating delays can be, but many would enjoy waiting at the airport more if they had new services that appeal to them, such as outdoor spaces or dedicated study areas.

Queues and long waits are always stressful, so expediting security checks is a top priority for travellers. The time we waste waiting in line would be better used to enjoy work and leisure areas in the airports of the future.

Methodology
These data are the result of a global survey that we commissioned from Censuswide, with 7,299 participants who traveled or went on vacation from the following countries: Spain, Italy, Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. In this research we define "trip" as any trip abroad.

To analyze the data related to duty free, we have included the percentage of all countries (18.11%) whose inhabitants indicated that they did not shop in duty free stores while traveling. Then, from the total number of passengers passing through the busiest airports (both for total passenger traffic and international passenger traffic) we have calculated this percentage to obtain the number of passengers who do not shop at duty free stores at these airports. Next, we take the average spend on all items in the survey and calculate how much each airport is missing out on duty free.

Survey data is current as of December 2022. Duty free analysis is current as of January 2023.

Source: Booking.com