Our newly released 2015 Destination Weddings Travel Group Trend Report will surprise many, while confirming the predictions of others. Created in response to the continued interest in destination weddings among couples and colleagues alike, the report covers the latest trends, an overview of the consumer base and our predictions for the immediate future.
Crunching numbers
So what stands out in particular this year in our industry? Couples are recognizing that destination weddings are a far more economical choice than they may have initially imagined. While the average local wedding costs $30,000+, destination couples are enjoying a mere $8,800 price tag for hosting their event, a statistic that has been particularly appealing to those in this era of budget-consciousness. May has also taken the lead as the most popular month for destination weddings, with June and July following close behind.
As is such with modern couples, brides and grooms alike are finding that they have limited time to handle the logistics of a destination wedding and dedicated destination wedding specialists are expanding upon their offerings to meet this need. “Painless” is the priority and service providers are in the perfect position to educate their couples to help them create magical celebrations with none of the stress of planning an at-home wedding.
Furthermore, the report confirms the popularity of favorite destinations such as Mexico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Hawaii, but forecasts increased demand for up-and-comers Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, and Grenada as well.
One finally-recognized partnership is that of the same-sex wedding community and the destination wedding market, as we continue to monitor the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage internationally. We have seen a surge of LGBT destination weddings and expect they will only increase as more countries open their arms to same-sex marriage. Places to watch include Curacao, Capetown, Barcelona, and Aruba.
Above all, the destination wedding market will continue to thrive in 2016 as couples look to the experts to help them save money and minimize the planning work on their end. If there is one thing for certain, destination weddings are not only on-trend, but also here to stay.
Rebecca Hochreiter is the Vice President of Marketing & Customer Engagement at DestinationWeddings.com, the world's leading destination wedding and romantic travel planning company. DestinationWeddings.com has worked with over 20,000 couples and half a million guests to plan dream destination weddings. DestinationWeddings.com is one of the award-winning brands in the Celebration Travel Group collection.
