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Popular Misconceptions About Millennial Travelers

Without a doubt, millennials are an influential force in hospitality industry. The total estimated spending of millennials on travel in 2016 is US$226 billion. Even though this sum doesn’t allow calling millennial travelers the biggest force in tourism, they post highest growth, so experts forecast that they will re-shape both business and leisure travel in the nearest future. By 2020, half of the workforce in the world will be millennials; they will also become major buyers, so there’s no wonder why most hotel chains try to target this age group and grow loyal customers.

One can find numerous studies dedicated to millennial travelers and their preferences, but these works often contain some common misconceptions. For example, not all millennial travelers prefer obscure locations and remote exotic places like Mongolia. In true, they are more likely to choose affordable destinations located nearby, where they can benefit from good transport connections and reasonably priced hotel rooms. What important is to find authentic experiences in the places they visit. The next misconception is that millennials are savvy and always on tight budget. That is partially correct. As a rule, millennial travelers are frugal when choosing a hotel, but they are willing to pay for memorable experiences like a visit to a top restaurant, spa or paying for some personalized hotel service.

It’s common to think that millennials are spontaneous travelers who prefer last minute deals. However, latest studies show that many of them are forward-thinking planners. They prefer package deals more than other generations – 33% of millennials prefer vacations where activities are already organized for them, while only 27% of Gen Xers and 25% of Baby Boomers choose the same. Finally, some studies call millennials egocentric. Indeed, they really enjoy sharing their personal experiences in social media, but at the same time they wish to help others. This age group has stronger feeling or “voluntourism” and “social impact”. Millennials are more likely to choose hotels that are environment friendly or help local communities.

26.11.2016

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