I’m guessing you may be wondering, who is generation Y? Let me break it down for you: generation Y are the "mellenials’, the cool kids born from the late 80’s up to the year 2000.
So guess what? You are probably a part of generation Y. The twenty-something age groups all make up a part of this so-called generation and you may be questioning, why should this interest you? So, you are a millennial and you probably love to travel right?
No, I am no psychic, but recent research has proved that those travelers born between 1980’s and the year 2000 (Generation Y) represent the most ever-changing target market in the travel and tourism industry. This means that their tastes and preferences are harder to keep track of. Statistics show that the majority of people forming part of the generation Y do not have full time jobs and 40% of their time is "free time’. Moreover they manage to fill this free time as they have a passion for traveling, are wanderers, are seeking new experiences and in ten years’ time, they will be the segment of society which spends the most on traveling.
Furthermore, generation Y’s buying behavior will be one that is very quick when it comes to planning a holiday, and this means that there can be a longer period of time to plan and book ahead. This can pose a threat on the hotel business as their prices are set in accordance to the demand mechanism and if the demand is relatively low prior to the holiday, the price will be much cheaper. Moreover, platforms such as couch surfing will get more and more popular with this segment. New studies also show that the trend for the travel and tourism industry is to promote place authenticity; this is due to the fact that travelers are looking for a more local experience. This corroborates with the fact that people are opting to couch surf in order to stay local and get the local ambiance vibe.
Hence, it is of utmost importance for the industry to keep researching the market, as it is a very dynamic one. Doing this enables stakeholders to provide the necessary supply for the posed demand of the travelers.
