As The Guardian reports, international tourism is on the rise — and we aren’t just talking about incremental jumps either. To put things in perspective, in 1990, there were around 400 million trips made across the globe for tourism purposes. By 2018, that number had skyrocketed 1.4 billion.
Why is this number rising so quickly? Because we all want a piece of the travel action.
The simple truth is, the modern individual is often driven by a desire to get out and explore the world. Yet, while travel prices do continue to fall as demands rise, they are still expensive luxuries and many of us cannot afford to see and do everything we’d like to. But just because costs are prohibitive doesn’t mean you cannot take steps to make your travel goals more bank-balance friendly. There are plenty of easy ways to reduce travel costs, allowing you to get out and journey to far-off destinations more often.
So what methods can you start using today to help you get on that flight tomorrow?
Become a Loyal Customer
Many travel brands reward customer loyalty. Accommodation websites tend to offer exclusive deals, reduced rates and even free nights to loyal consumers, while airlines will allow you to accumulate points redeemable against future flights. Shopping around for good deals is definitely the best option early on in your travel experiences. But if you tend to find yourself coming back to the same website, or the same airline, time after time, it then pays to become a loyal patron, as you’ll start to gain access to benefits more fickle travellers are not privy to.
Pay on Credit Cards and Gather Air Miles
Many credit card suppliers have deals with airlines that allow you to earn air miles as you shop. It doesn’t matter what you buy — it can be anything from clothes to groceries — every transaction through the card essentially builds credit towards flights. What this means for your travel is, as you go through day-to-day life, making everyday purchases, you are effectively funding your transportation. You aren’t spending any more money than you would have before, but you are earning rewards to support cheaper travel at a later date.
Reclaim Flight Delay Compensation
As you start to travel more, the more likely it is you’ll encounter flight delays. Flight delays are at record highs, with some airlines experiencing delays on nearly 10% of all flights they manage. While this often irritating and uncomfortable setback to your travel plans may be an unfortunately common occurrence, there is a silver lining. Flight delays that meet certain criteria allow you to claim compensation and recover some of the costs of your trip. Claims vary, but it is possible to gain settlement of over £500 if the delay was long enough (over four hours).
A significant boost to your travel fund, flight delay claims allows you to travel to even more destinations. If you aren’t confident in making your own flight delay claim, you can work with agencies that manage claims on your behalf. Through the use of flight delay claims management software, they can quickly and efficiently secure your compensation at the cost of a small commission, allowing you to fill up your travel savings pot and keep on exploring.
Find like-for-like Alternatives to Expensive Travel Destinations
It truly is a rare thing to find an utterly unique place. While your dream travel destinations will have certain qualities drawing you to them, it might just be that there are far cheaper alternatives offering near-identical experiences for a fraction of the price.
For example, many people yearn to escape to the luxury of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. They seek intense relaxation, surrounded by beautiful seas, white sand, palm trees and picturesque jungle huts. They then become settled on this idea. The problem is, a holiday to the Maldives costs nothing short of a small fortune, but travellers don’t have to fix on a single destination. There are plenty of other similar places to visit.
Of the two images below, which would you rather visit?
Like the Maldives, the Philippines is home to gloriously clear coastal waters, blindingly bright sandy beaches, enchanting palm trees and isolated jungle huts overlooking the ocean — all for a fraction of the price. You get what you need from your travel, but you don’t break the bank doing it. For those eager to know, the Philippines is the top picture, and the Maldives the image below.