What are good travel gifts? Experiences travelers can book themselves
The newest trend in holiday gifts doesn’t take up space in carry-on luggage or add weight to checked bags.
It doesn’t even need to be packed.
Rather than giving holidaymakers new gear for travel — electronics organizers, Yeti thermoses, yet another airplane pillow — some are giving travel itself.
A survey of more than 1,000 Americans by the computer company Adobe showed that while 51% of respondents plan to purchase physical gifts this holiday season, 17% plan to give “an experience” instead.
Survey respondents cited spa treatments (25%) and concert tickets (25%) most often, while others said they planned to give plane tickets (21%) and cooking classes (16%) as gifts.
“Experience gifting” — as it is known — isn’t new. But it’s finding traction this holiday season as a push for minimalist packing converges with a pandemic that has made travel a top priority for many in 2022.
More experiences, less ‘stuff’
Migle Rakauskaite, the chief marketing manager at travel experience website Tinggly.com, said the pandemic is prompting an increase in travel experience gift purchases.
“Gifting traditions are changing,” she said. “People seem to value quality time together and doing something meaningful. Experience gifts are so much more valuable than the regular ‘stuff.'”
They’re also easy. With a few strokes of a keyboard, buyers can give experiences that once would have required time and coordination to pull off — a street food tour in Vietnam, a hot air balloon ride outside Chicago, or a private gondola tour for two through the canals of Venice, Italy.
Tinggly.com’s travel experience “gift boxes” never expire, which played a “huge part” in the rise of purchases during the pandemic, Rakauskaite said.
Tinggly.com’s “Bucketlist” gift box ($239) lets recipients choose among more than 800 experiences, from a surfing lesson for two in Kona, Hawaii to a Northern Lights “chase” via minibus.
Piriya Photography | Moment Open | Getty Images
Perhaps most important of all, recipients — not the buyers — get to choose their own experiences at a time and date that suit their schedules.
Tinggly addresses a hang-up some have about giving intangible presents — it sends a package for recipients to open. Gift boxes can be mailed worldwide, though last-minute purchasers can also be sent via e-voucher, according to a company representative.
A weekend getaway
For people who prefer to hole up and relax on vacation, booking a weekend away may be a better option.
Ski chalets, lake houses and other homes on the rental website Vrbo can be purchased as gifts, said Alison Kwong, a company senior manager. Once the house is booked, the purchaser needs only to add other travelers’ names to the reservation.
Though Vrbo doesn’t have vouchers or gift cards, houses like this mountain retreat in Park City, Utah, can be booked for someone else, the company said.
Courtesy of Vrbo
Kwong recommends purchasers start by thinking about the type of home that suits the recipient. That could…
Read More: What are good travel gifts? Experiences travelers can book themselves