How Millennials Are Disrupting the Travel Industry
Millennials like their travel. They are the generation who are always dashing off between full-time jobs for long breaks or taking time out to find themselves between more casual work. There are loads of speculative reasons why people believe that millennials travel so often.
Some say it's a reaction to the stability of their childhood, others claim that they are the generation who always strive to be different and some think that they're doing it, well, because everyone else is. Either way, millennials are disrupting the travel industry and here's how...
Millennials Want Transformational Trips
Unlike the generations before them, millennials aren't as happy with just sitting on a beach for a week and then returning to normal life with a bit of a tan. No no, millennials want to experience the world, have their perspectives challenged and awaken their minds to a new way of life.
In this way, what they are after is often a more transformational holiday, that adds something to their life, rather than takes them away from their everyday existence. It's an interesting distinction and one that has made the travel industry more diverse.
Fitness Holidays
In years gone by the idea of a fitness holiday would have been laughed at, but now they are a thing. And a very profitable thing at that.
A fitness holiday costs a pretty penny and promises to whisk you away to a remote and chilled villa where you can relax... in between intense exercise. The idea of a fitness holiday to older generations would be horrendous, but millennials really care about their wellbeing and fitness - even when they're on holiday. If you love a fitness holiday, you have the millennial generation to thank for making it happen.
Personalised Travel
Forget the package holiday, or the one size fits all camping trip that the newspaper used to offer, for millennials being different is everything. As a result, the kinds of travel that they enjoy is personalised trips that mean something to them.
Perhaps it's a trip to explore their favourite cuisine, or to visit a part of the world that has special meaning for their heritage. Whatever the reasoning, millennials like to have personalised trips that are a little different to those holidays their friends are going.
They're Big Spenders
Another reason that millennials are disrupting the travel industry is their love of spending their hard earned cash. Unlike the more frugal generations that went before them, saving isn't high up on the millennial agenda. As a general rule, they much prefer to live for the moment and this can mean spending money on big trips away over purchasing big items that may have been important to other generations.
This has been great for travel, as it has stabilized how people spend and ensured that more and more people plan trips away at all times of the year.
Millennials Love Winter Holidays
A good old fashioned summer holiday is great, there's no denying that. However, millennials have taught us that Winter can also be a great time to take a break.
In their lifetime, skiing holidays have become a lot more affordable, meaning that more and more millennials choose to take trips over the winter months instead of the summer. For many, this change has meant that they get to go on two holidays - winter and summer. Millennials are all about that yolo lifestyle, and why not?
They Love a Group Holiday
Whilst the travel sector used to be full of couples trips and family holidays, millennials have started to bring bigger groups away for their fun-filled trips. Big family holidays became a thing, and millennials started to bring friends on their trips.
The more the merrier is definitely their motto, and whilst they love to splurge, they also truly believe that the best things in life are free. These include playing in the pool with your mates, devouring a massive BBQ with your entire family and taking a walk with your folks. So, they invite more people along on their holidays than previous generations.
They're Less Afraid of Travel
In the past, certain destinations had appeared 'off limits' for those who wanted to travel. These places often included third world countries and places with disease, natural disasters and war. Not for the millennials though.
The millennials were the first generation who decided that adventure travel should be accepted and celebrated. Their fearless attitude means that they're much more likely to book a trip to a more dangerous place, as they look for a unique and special experience. They want to live their life to the fullest, so they've pushed the boundaries in terms of where is safe and acceptable to go abroad.
They Use Technology
Previous generations loved to travel too, but they had less ways to do it. With technology exploding, millennials have been able to travel almost wherever they want using technology to do it.
Apps like AirBnB have revolutionized how we move around, and blogging and social media have opened up opinions so that people can actually have first-hand reviews before they commit to traveling to a place. Technology has opened the world up, both by means of actually making it easier to book adventures and making it easier to find places that you want to go to.
They Have More Flexible Holidays
Millennials love to travel so much that they've actually made it a perk of their work life too. Instead of doing a regular 9-5, with a set amount of holidays per year, millennials have introduced flexible working that allows them to travel when they like.
Many employers allow millennials to work more hours during peak times and fewer hours when they want to take a break - meaning that millennials have shaken up the travel industry by making more trips within the year, rather than just one big summer holiday like other generations have been used to.
City Breaks Are More Accessible To Them
Millennials have been lucky in that their travel has become more affordable. When you combine that with their flexible working style, it means that they get to do lots of travel.
City breaks are popular with millennials who love to escape for the weekend, to get that Insta-worthy snap of them under the Eiffel tower, chilling in Rome, or exploring coffee shops in Amsterdam. City breaks have become more and more popular, because of the way that millennials like to dash off into the distance on spontaneous trips. This is especially true for European millennials who have an array of countries on their doorstep.
Retreats Have Become More Popular
As much as they love them, for millennials, it's not all about fitness retreats, they love to take a break in any way that works for them. As a result, retreats have become popular as an opportunity for the modern millennial to kick back and relax.
Millennials have a reputation for struggling to keep a job down due to their spontaneous and flexible attitude, so in order for them to flourish in a work environment, it's essential that they have a work-life balance. Gone are the days of partying it up in Ibiza, millennials want wholesomeness and clean living, which have made retreats more popular.
All-Inclusive Holidays Have Suffered
All-inclusive holidays used to be all the rage - you'd get everything in one package. Food and drinks would be included in the price, and you'd pretty much sit by a pool and chill out for a week, whilst eating and drinking anything you wanted.
Millennials didn't want that, because for them, culture and community is everything. They disrupted the travel industry by pushing themselves to have cultural awakenings, as opposed to comfort holidays. Any opportunity to do something different and the millennial is there, which means all-inclusive holidays are not high on their agenda.
Business Trips
People have always traveled for work, but millennials are the first generation to really do it properly. Instead of just popping in and out of a city like the older generations would, the millennials are daring enough to ask their boss for a little extra time to explore the place.
Instead of taking those days from the flight time back in lieu, millennials are happier to ditch the extra time off and take their business trip to the next level by adding days on either side. This way, they get to see more of the world, whilst dealing with their business duties at the same time.
They Like Luxury Travel
We're not saying that millennials always travel luxe. This would be nearly impossible because they travel a lot. However, they do enjoy a luxury break for special occasions.
Millennials have made the birthday break a thing, and love to treat their friends and other halves with surprise travel treats. Unlike previous generations, millennials live in the moment and are less likely to worry about finances. After all, they grew up watching everything their parents had get shaken by the recession, so their trust in finances isn't that strong. They're much happier spending their hard earned money and enjoying experiences.
Social Media Posts Prompt More Travel
Millennials love social media. In fact, they created it. Whilst the younger generations post constantly, millennials use it less, but what they post holds more significance to them. They love to share a travel snap, and this, in turn, prompts more people to travel.
Expectations are high, and instead of using a travel guide, people are more likely to slide into their Facebook friends DM's and ask for some tips. This trend of sharing human-centric travel tips from like-minded people means that social media is a big driver of millennial travel.
Foodie culture has influenced their travel
Millennials are big foodies, and many of them enjoy cooking in their free time. As well as going out for dinner in their home town, millennials love to enjoy food in other parts of the world too. Typically, they spend more on holiday than that other groups, as their live-in-the-moment attitude makes them splurge on a special dinner.
However, whilst millennials like to experience lots of lovely food, they're not afraid of trying new things either. They're much more likely to try things like street food and unusual dishes in order to have an authentic experience.
Mobile is Important to Them
Whilst they're spending a lot of time posting about their experiences, they also rely heavily on mobile to book and get around. Millennials are less likely to plan using a map, paper leaflet or travel agent to book a getaway, and whilst they love a local recommendation or a friend's tip-off, they will use mobile to get there.
During the booking process, millennials rely heavily on mobile too, and 86% of millennials are disappointed by bad mobile experiences. So, the key to the millennial heart for those who work in travel is a good mobile experience.
Last Minute Trips Don't Phase Them
City breaks, spa weekends and trips to visit friends in far-off lands are all open to the millennial market. Their gung-ho attitude means that they're not afraid to dash out the door as soon as they see an offer on a last minute trip.
Due to their tendency to book on mobile and tablets too, it's very easy for them to get swayed. They know that a sunny beach or a brand new city is only a click away, and that has made the travel industry more urgent and accessible.
They Travel More
No generation has ever had travel as accessible, affordable and accepted as the millennials. It's pretty much a given that millennials will travel. What with the low airfares, quicker travel times and technology that allows affordable accommodation in almost any area of the world, millennials would be mad not to travel!
They are disrupting the industry because of the sheer volume of people who are going away, and just how often. Travel is no longer a holiday thing, it's a lifestyle thing - and we all have the millennials generation to thank for that.
