Live Tourism Was 2024’s Most Important Story in Travel 

As 2024 draws to a close, the most important story in tourism this year was a blockbuster – Live Tourism. 

For decades, travel has been dominated by iconic landmarks, sandy beaches, and cultural experiences. But this year, the world’s travelers seemed to shift en masse toward an entirely different motivation. They were chasing events – live concerts, celestial phenomena, sporting matches – and transforming these once-ephemeral experiences into the very core of their itineraries.

For Live Tourism, a trip isn’t built around a place; it’s built around a moment. Consider the frenzy surrounding the Great American Solar Eclipse in April. From Texas to Maine, tiny towns that typically attract little more than a trickle of weekend campers became sites for skywatchers, scientists, and influencers armed with ring lights and drone cameras. 

Hotels booked up, campsites were full, short-term rentals were at 100% occupancy with searches around the totality up 1,000%, according to Airbnb. For many eclipse-chasers, the event wasn’t just the centerpiece of their travel plans; it was the plan. The rest was mere adornment: a few extra days in Austin for barbecue, or perhaps a quick stop at Niagara Falls on the drive back from totality.

Meanwhile, another kind of celestial wonder – the Northern Lights – was enjoying its own banner year. Thanks to an unusually active solar cycle, aurora sightings became a reliable spectac