As 2017 winds down we’re sharing some fresh traveler preference data to help marketers target the world’s top 10 markets next year. It’s not your typical list of up-and-coming destinations (you can always find those here). Nor is it a list of popular activities or themes. Those have been covered thoroughly.

Our goal is to capture traveler sentiment on a broader scale: to go beyond the what, how or where to understand the why. We’re looking for what truly motivates travelers — the intangible result they want from a vacation — beyond any specific event or criteria.

For many, it means a chance to rest and relax. For others it may be an opportunity to recharge through active exploration. To capture these seemingly opposite objectives, there is a Relaxing vs Active preference slider on TripTuner.com and throughout much of our partner network.

This infographic is based on 1^st party data (anonymized and aggregated) from 1 million inputs on that slider across the TripTuner network through December 26, 2017. It shows how travelers in the world’s top 10 outbound countries (as defined by the UNWTO) rank in their desire to relax or be active when on holiday or vacation.

This data is unique in three respects:

• Actions, not words: it’s based on what users do, not what they say in a survey or review.
• Qualitative sentiment: by focusing on intangible criteria (e.g. relaxing or active) it offers deeper insight than a model based on quantitative booking data.
• Captures nuance: preferences are indicated on a sliding scale (what blend of relaxation and activity is desired) instead of a binary preference (do you want to relax OR be active?).

It’s the first of a series of reports we’ll share in the coming year from the TripTuner Taste Lab. So stay tuned for more as we continue to mine an ever-increasing trove of first-party preference data.