Online travel service platform Fligi has released its 2024 Buy Now Plan Later Travel Insights Today, January 10th.
Insights show that the platform's buy-now/pay-later (BNPL) travel product booking volume in 2024 is expected to increase by 20% over the previous year.
This growth is largely driven by a younger demographic, with Generation Z consumers accounting for nearly a quarter of those using this purchasing model.
Planning a trip through BNPL is now a mainstream method of travel spending.
A flexible way to plan that leads to savings
With BNPL Travel, consumers purchase single or multiple travel products in advance.
This model allows travelers to secure these options for future use, redeemable after they finalize their travel dates and destinations.
Generally, this method offers greater cost savings than traditional direct bookings, offering the flexibility of full refunds without restrictions before the reservation is finalized.
Fligi's Head of BNPL Product Operations Acton Chow said: “Looking ahead to 2025, the leisure tourism market is expected to grow steadily in terms of both scale and consumer spending. being Our primary objective for travel agencies is to expand our customer base and tap into the growing needs of our existing customers. The inherent advantages of the BNPL model which include flexible pricing, adaptable facilities and versatile usage make it a strategic tool to enhance the consumer's willingness to spend.”
Significant trends in 2024
Insights indicate that the share of outbound tourism within the BNPL travel segment in 2024 has increased by 10 percentage points over the previous year, with hotel booking fill rates for outbound travel increasing by 70 percent year-on-year.
A noticeable trend is the expansion of popular travel destinations from a four-hour flight radius to a twelve-hour flight radius from China.
Top destinations for BNPL orders in 2024 include Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Maldives, New Zealand, Australia, USA and Indonesia.
Additionally, there is growing interest in emerging destinations such as Iceland, Norway, Kenya, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, all of which have experienced rapid growth.
At the same time, travel experiences continue to diversify in 2024, with customers exploring breathtaking landscapes such as Bomi in Tibet, embarking on self-driving tours across New Zealand and taking luxury cruise ships to see albatrosses and penguins through polar tours.
According to Fligi data, demand for international cruises, overseas car rentals and overseas amusement park tickets has grown rapidly.
In fact, international cruise bookings have nearly tripled year-on-year.