Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Allyouneedtoknowabout‘Promadic’travel
TRAVEL bans across many countries over the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic have given globetrotters time to reflect on how they’d like to travel going forward – and thus a new era is born.
“Promadic Travel” was expected to develop over a decade but is happening now with shifts in purpose and value, accelerated by the Covid crisis.
This eco-conscious alternative approach to travel came after Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z – who have never known a world without an ongoing climate crisis – began questioning their travel actions and decisions.
Coined by “Design Hotels” after a year-long study of this emerging mindset, Promadic Travel is defined as “a conceptually driven traveller guided by the idea that travel should be proactive, purposeful, foster a sense of personal progress and protect the planet”.
It’s also about embracing new technologies, innovations, and disruptions at a time when major societal topics are being debated: over-tourism, demographic transformation, jet flight restriction, expanding connectivity, race diversity, and gender equality.
Promads, as they are known, want to feel good about how they travel. They seek enlightenment, simplicity, understanding and growth while enjoying the comforts and flexibility that technology provides to their booking, travel and accommodation experiences.
Simply put, it is not just about where they travel too, but why. This trend means tourists are finding it extremely important to venture further afield, exploring lesser-known places and to escape crowds and spread out.
The younger generations are opting for greener ways of getting from place to place. Avoiding air travel, choosing to rather reduce the number of flights to lessen their environmental footprint. They would rather use land or sea transport.
Currently cities like Amsterdam and Venice suffer from over-tourism and have taken steps to change how
people travel. In Paris, 43 strategically placed signs by the “Enlarge Your Paris” project are pointing tourists away from well-known sights, to discover overlooked highlights of Greater Paris.
This new wave of purpose-driven and conscious travellers has also impacted on hotels, making them relook at how they offer services to guests.
Some hotels are adding packages that don’t just offer food and a bed to rest. Rather they are partnering with local communities and offering the Promad a unique experience.
For Promads, imported meats and fish rank low on their list of desires and is replaced by a taste for hyper-local cuisine, and a farm-to-table approach.
Promads champion restaurateurs who provide this along with in-season flavours. They want to see sustainable farming practices, organic cooking techniques and a natural menu curation.
A sustainable society has become a necessity and Promads scrutinise each business to ensure they’re living up to their values.
As a collective, the way they book their travel will be flexible and seamless, fuelled by word-of-mouth approval and enabled by social media, augmented reality (AR) experiences, and smart banking that anticipates their travel budgets.
Ultimately, Promadic Travellers do not see themselves as consumers. They will travel to produce and contribute, helping them and local communities.