Consumers should do their research before giving in to Travel Tuesday temptation

Travel Tuesday Emerges as Holiday Shopping Season’s Latest Retail Phenomenon

As retail segments increasingly carve out dedicated days during the post-Thanksgiving shopping rush, the travel industry has firmly established its own promotional event: Travel Tuesday. Falling on the same day as the nonprofit-focused Giving Tuesday, this industry-wide initiative sees airlines, hotels, cruise lines, booking platforms, and tour operators offering one-day deals to entice holiday shoppers.

Travel Tuesday originated from data analysis conducted by online travel platform Hopper in 2017. The company discovered that across nine previous years, the Tuesday following Cyber Monday consistently featured the most substantial travel discounts of the post-Thanksgiving period. The concept has since gained significant traction.

“Nearly three times as many trips were planned on Travel Tuesday last year compared to Black Friday,” explained Lindsay Schwimer, a consumer expert at Hopper. “We continue to see growth in the day, year over year, as more travel brands and categories offer deals.”

The event’s creation mirrors the development of other retail-oriented days. Cyber Monday was established by the National Retail Federation in 2005 to capitalize on emerging e-commerce trends, while American Express launched Small Business Saturday in 2010 to direct consumer spending toward smaller retailers.

A report from consulting firm McKinsey & Company noted that November and December traditionally represent slow months for travel bookings, making Travel Tuesday an important “marketing moment” that could boost industry revenue. Data provided to McKinsey by travel marketing platform Sojern showed significant increases in hotel, cruise, and airline bookings by U.S. travelers on Travel Tuesday 2023 compared to the surrounding weeks.

While Travel Tuesday promotions primarily target North American consumers, the McKinsey report suggested European travel companies should prepare for the phenomenon’s expansion, following the international spread of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Consumer advocates advise travelers to approach these deals with caution. Sally French, a travel expert at personal finance site NerdWallet, warned that flashy discounts might be misleading.

“People see ’40 percent off’ and assume it’s a once-in-a-lifetime steal, without recognizing that the underlying price may have been inflated or that the same itinerary was cheaper last month,” French said.

Experts recommend conducting thorough research before making purchases. Shoppers should pay careful attention to fine print, particularly regarding blackout dates, restrictions, nonrefundable fares, resort fees, double occupancy requirements, and upgrade conditions that may be hidden within advertised discounts.

French also noted that travel companies often use alternative incentives rather than directly reducing prices. “Many travel brands want to keep sticker prices high to maintain an aura of luxury, but they still need to fill planes, ships, and hotel rooms,” she explained. “Add-on perks are their workaround.”

The key to identifying genuine bargains lies in preparation rather than impulse buying. Knowing typical costs for specific trips and comparing options can help consumers identify inflated underlying prices or determine if the same itinerary might be available at lower prices during different periods.

“Compare prices, check your calendar and make sure the trip you’re booking is something you genuinely want, not something you bought because a countdown timer pressured you,” French advised. “What gets glossed over is that the best deal might be not booking anything at all if it doesn’t align with your plans.”

Vivek Pandya, lead insights analyst for Adobe Analytics, which tracks online spending, pointed out that consumers have more resources than ever to evaluate deals this holiday season.

“Social journeys, influencers providing promo codes and values, and generative AI platforms taking all that in – the prices, the social conversation, the reviews – and giving guidance to the consumer, that’s a very different, dynamic kind of journey consumers are taking than they have in previous seasons,” Pandya said.

Both analysts emphasized that prices fluctuate based on multiple factors, and winter holidays aren’t the only major promotional period throughout the year.

“We now have dozens of consumer spending ‘holidays,'” French concluded. “Amazon alone keeps adding new versions of Prime Day. So if you don’t buy on Travel Tuesday, you haven’t missed your moment.”