Younger travelers - those under 30 years old - represented
23% of all international arrivals in 2017, creating a market valued at more
than $280 billion. It’s a valuable audience for brands, and understanding the
preferences of these millennial and Gen Z travelers also provides a glimpse at future
trends for the travel industry.
Every five years the World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE)
Travel Confederation conducts a survey to gauge how and where under-30
travelers are spending their time and money. It’s most recent report, New Horizons IV, includes
responses from 57,000 respondents from 188 countries.
One clear finding: Younger consumers' comfort with desktop
and mobile resources has created a pronounced shift to online bookings.
Whereas 10 years ago physical travel agent offices handled
70% of youth travel bookings, in 2017, online travel agencies were the dominant
channel, handing 40% of air and 47% of accommodation bookings.
The report notes OTAs were particularly popular with older
millennials since they are most likely to have a credit card.
For air, preferred sites included Expedia (26%), STA Travel
(15%), Skyscanner (12%) and StudentUniverse (11%). For accommodations,
Booking.com topped the list with 41% of the bookings, followed by hostel specialist
Hostelworld (32%), Airbnb (15%) and Expedia (3%).
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Online bookings for tours and activities show a more fragmented
marketplace. Twenty-five percent of respondents say they used GetYourGuide, followed
by TourRadar (17%) and Viator (16%). But 42% of those surveyed indicate they
used an “other” OTA - most often mentioning Qunar, Expedia, TripAdvisor and
Ctrip.
For ground transportation, the top OTAs were GoEuro (28%),
CheckMyBus (16%) and Wanderu (7%). But 48% of respondents selected “other,” naming
Ctrip, Expedia, Skyscanner, Megabus and Trainline.
Social sources
Under-30 travelers also indicated they are doing more research as
part of their trip planning. In the 2002 survey, respondents reported using an average
of three information sources when planning travel. In 2017, that number increased
to 10.5.
Friends and family are still the most important information
source for young travelers, but the digital-savvy audience is placing
increasing value on social media and comparison or referral websites.
Meanwhile, traditional resources such as brochures,
guidebooks, tourist offices and travel agents have become less important in the
past five years.
Active interests
The survey found an increasing interest in experiential
activities for millennial and Gen Z travelers - and a willingness to spend
money in that category.
When asked what they would be likely to splurge on, 37% of
respondents indicated they would pay extra for food or drink experiences, followed
by events or festivals (27%), fine or performing arts (18%) and extreme or
adrenaline sports (16%). At the bottom of the list: traditional luxuries such
as first- or business-class airfare (4%), extra legroom on a plane (6%) or an
accommodation upgrade (10%).
“Adding unique, one-of-a-kind experiential elements to the
basic travel journey might be more productive than trying to develop premium
travel products aimed at millennials,” the report says.
“However, there is some evidence that some millennial
markets are more orientated towards conventional status symbols than others.
Millennial men are almost twice as likely than millennial women to splurge on a
business-class ticket, and millennial travelers from South Asia are
particularly likely to splurge when travelling.”
In comparing preferences for the same activities from 2012 to
2017, the average level of participation increased by 26%. The category with
the greatest increase is “living like a local” – now desired by 51% of
respondents versus just 28% in 2012. The only activity that declined was
visiting nightclubs, at 35%, down from 39% in 2012.
“Unique, immersive, once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences are
no longer Kodak moments and nostalgic memories - they are the social currency
of millennials and generation Z,” the report says.