Report: How Payment Plans Remove The Risk From Booking Adventure Travel

When it comes to vacations, some consumers in the United States want to do more than catch a few rays on a beach or to hit the local tourist attractions.  According to PYMNTS research, 139 million consumers are planning to take some type of luxury vacation next year, fueling a $1.1 trillion market. This market is flourishing in part by a subset of luxury travelers who want their vacation to carry a certain level of excitement. These adventure travelers prefer adrenaline-pumping activities like heli-skiing, bungee jumping, kayaking and other excitement-oriented outings.

While interest in both luxury travel and adventure vacations is strong among consumers, many would-be travelers can find their travel plans grounded due to the significant cost they can carry. PYMNTS research finds many travelers are interested in innovative payment solutions that could make it easier to pay for vacations, enable multiple participants to contribute and include features like automated recurring payments, tracking capabilities and desktop- and mobile-friendly interfaces.

The new Luxury Travel Study, a PYMNTS and Flywire collaboration, outlines how consumers have participated in the $1.1 trillion luxury travel market and how innovative payment solutions could open the market to even more travelers. The study examines over 200 data points and is based on responses from 2,141 consumers who either took and paid for a luxury vacation within the past year or who plan to do so within the next year.

Among the findings outlined in the report:

• 13.6 percent of luxury vacation consumers are adventure travelers who enjoy activities like heli-skiing, mountaineering, taking charter flights, riding in helicopters or exploring exotic places like Machu Picchu.
• 50.7 percent of survey respondents pointed to luxury vacations’ costs as a key factor derailing their abilities to pursue such trips.
• 59.7 percent of adventure vacation travelers and 56.7 percent of luxury vacation travelers said they would take more trips if they had access to innovative payment solutions that enabled multiple participants to contribute funds, make recurring payments or track payments, among other features.
• 45 percent of adventure travelers believe innovative payment solutions would make it easier to pay for vacations.

The study also includes a Deep Dive that looks at frequent travelers who took more than one luxury vacation in the past year and infrequent travelers who were only able to take one vacation, and how access to innovative payment solutions could impact both groups’ future travel plans.

Download the study to learn how innovative payment solutions could help more travelers embark on luxury vacations.

About The Study

The Luxury Travel Study, a PYMNTS and Flywire collaboration, focuses on luxury vacation market and the financial challenges that prevent many consumers from pursuing such trips. The study is based on survey responses from more than 2,000 U.S. consumers who took and paid for luxury vacations last year, plan to take them next year or took and paid for luxury vacations in the past and plan to do so in the future.