Millennials, people born between 1980 and 2000, are currently the largest age group of travelers in the world, so there is no wonder that they have a great impact on the modern travel industry. These people are usually described as highly educated and technology savvy. They are believed to have somewhat different tastes and preferences than previous generations, namely, Baby Boomers and Generation X.
Millennials are much more inclined to make city trips, and many of them are ready to spend big on their vacations. Moreover, the World Travel Monitor discovered that a half of all luxury travels in the world are now being made by millennials. Last year, millennials made 15% more outbound trips. The growth is two times higher than the market’s average. Millennials, who are now between 18 and 38, are the biggest age group that travels abroad they hold the market share of 40%. That said, it is important to remember that millennials are very different as some of them are just leaving school while some already finished their education and now have families and kids.
As more millennials work full-time, they have more extra money that they are willing to spend. Luxury travel, which is defined as the expenditure of 750 euro and more a day on short trips and 500 euro and more on longer trips, definitely attracts millennials as they make half of all luxury trips in the world. USA, China, Germany, and Great Britain are the biggest source markets in this regard. By the way, the United States also received the biggest number of millennial travelers in 2017. Hotels in Paris, Berlin or Tokyo hotels also seem to have a safe future as such countries as Germany, France, Japan, India, South Korea, and Australia also attract millennial travelers. Such moderately popular destinations as Ireland and Scandinavian countries have also become increasingly sought after. At the same time, China, Spain, and Austria attract fewer millennials.
Millennial travelers like city trips and beach holidays the most. When on a holiday, they like sightseeing, indulging into the local atmosphere, trying local food, and relaxing. At the same time, they are more sensitive to terror attacks and don’t like destinations with hordes of tourists, seeking more authentic experiences.
Travelers from this age group are well-informed and use more sources of information at the planning stage than other age groups. 9 out of 10 millennial travelers search information online before going to the planned trip. Finally, millennials have one very interesting peculiarity the share of female travelers is above average. Unlike all other age groups, millennial female travelers hold a higher share than male ones, so they are likely to shape the travel industry in the coming years.