Travel Insights: Young Generations’ Priorities & Travel Solutions
Travel & Tourism
It’s hard to believe that we are already welcoming Gen Z adults into the traveling marketplace. Many of us are just now comfortable with the fact that millennials represent $5.7 trillion in spending power, taking over the previously dominate baby boomers. As the leading edge of this young and connected Gen Z turns 25, BVK dedicates a series of The Current to understanding how their concerns and motivations will impact demand for travel products and services in the years to come. In this issue we take a look at the priorities both millennials and members of Gen Z share, the nuances that differentiate them, and how your organization can capture their interest.
For the record, BVK acknowledges that nuanced target audience development work leads to greater returns on marketing campaigns. We oftentimes cringe when brands focus so intently on generational cohorts alone. From our perspective, understanding the cultural differences between the generational cohorts provides a base level of knowledge from which we build more sophisticated target audience profiles. There are cultural differences emerging from these younger generations which is why we’re spending a considerable amount of time understanding and sharing them with you. As travel marketers build new products and services, they’ll want to do it with an eye toward fulfilling the desires of these young adults.
Both millennials and members of Gen Z are more diverse than their predecessors and have shared priorities of health, finances, the environment, career balance, equity, and inclusion, but with unique nuances. With core values such as self-actualization for millennials and progress for Gen Z, travel organizations have opportunities to provide solutions that align with the priorities of these value-driven audiences.
Some key takeaways from the insights deck attached below:
Health
Maintaining good health is a top concern for many, including the youngest generations. As millennials seek a well-rounded life of wellness and Gen Z focuses on mental health, travel offers solutions to improve their overall wellbeing.
Finances
As the cost of living dominates public conversations, the youngest generations express finances as one of their top concerns. Millennials are now facing the demands of greater life expenses, while Gen Z tries to cover their increasingly costly daily needs on entry level incomes. However, both audiences express travel as a top priority and seek creative offerings that allow them to continue planning trips despite rising prices.
Environment
The environment is a top concern for the youngest generations with sustainability a key part of their lifestyles and purchase behaviors. Both millennials and members of Gen Z think about how climate change will impact the future and try to act accordingly by looking for ways to travel sustainably.
Career Balance
As the youngest members of the workforce, both millennials and Gen Z are either re-evaluating their careers or re-framing what career norms are. Both groups look to leverage remote work flexibility to increase or extend their travel experiences.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
As two of the most diverse generations, millennials paved the way with conversations around diversity, and Gen Z has grown up with expectations of inclusion and equity. These young generations are keeping their standards high when it comes to EDI and look for travel brands that align.
A general theme throughout each of these five key areas of focus is that these younger consumers make no distinction between brands and humanity. As a result, they hold companies accountable for action not rhetoric. They routinely expect that brands treat both people and the planet with respect. Travel brands will need to be bold when it comes to their actions around creating welcoming, inclusive and sustainable travel experiences.
If you’d like to have a no obligation conversation with us about the future impact these generations will have on the travel industry please feel free to email me at [email protected].
