Is There a Market for Digital Travel? Travellers’ Views on Digital Travel and Willingness to Pay

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, digital alternatives to office-work, classroom teaching, business meetings, and leisure activities, etc. were seen by most as a supplement to, not a replacement for, meeting people face-to-face. With the experiences many have had these last two years, including travel restrictions, vacationers’ views of digital travel might be expected to have changed. This study is based on surveys of views on digital travel in the summers of 2021 and 2022. We presented vacationers with descriptions of digital travel products and activities, followed by questions about willingness to pay for these. We identified a small segment of vacationers who see digital travel as a substitute for physical travel, and a significant group of vacationers who see the digital travel experience as a pre-taste of actual travel. The vacationers were asked for comparisons of their willingness to pay for digital services with ticket prices that a tourist would normally pay at a destination. Although we could identify a market for digital travel products, it remains to be seen whether players in the travel industry can offer products and services that are attractive enough to raise significant revenue. There is not necessarily a high correlation between intention to pay and actual willingness to make payments, but the study indicates that there is an emergent market that businesses in the travel economy can potentially utilize.