New research has revealed the top factor travellers are prioritising when choosing their next expedition – and it is no longer the destination itself.
In a survey by Australian-owned adventure travel company Aurora Expeditions on over 700 expeditioners, 95.3% of respondents rated the expertise of the expedition team as a priority when selecting an operator.
Itinerary came second (94.2%), followed by small ship size (93.3%) and landing opportunities (92.9%).
Wildlife and nature encounters remain the leading inspiration for expedition travel, cited by nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents. Adventure and active exploration ranked second (70%), while bucket list motivation (33%) is increasingly paired with learning and enrichment (29%) and photography (29%).
Justin Ewin, global head of product at Aurora Expeditions said: “It's no longer just about where you go, but how you experience it. The expertise of the expedition team plays a critical role in shaping that experience, from interpreting wildlife encounters to providing deeper context around the environments we visit. As the category grows, travellers are becoming more discerning.”
The company noted that for its most recent Antarctic season, it delivered more than 800 landings across over 30 voyages, supported by a guide-to-guest ratio of 1:7, enabling a higher volume of small-group, expert-led experiences than is possible on larger vessels.
Two other shifts are also gaining traction.
Instead of sitting under the ‘once-in-a-lifetime event’ category, the research found approximately 20% of Aurora's passengers are repeat guests “who are returning to explore new regions”.
Solo travel is also accelerating. According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), 12% of cruise travellers chose to sail solo in 2024, double the figure recorded the previous year. Among Aurora Expeditions' own passenger base, this rises to 26%.
On that front, Aurora Expeditions has expanded its independent travel capacity fleetwide, including its newest vessel Douglas Mawson, which features dedicated solo cabins and up to 10 solo staterooms per sailing with no single supplement.