Millennials planning more travel in 2018 than Baby Boomers, Xers

Millennials have the travel bug, making them a good target for motorcoach tours—that is, if you can match a tour with their interests. More than any other group, they’re also likely to turn to tour professionals for planning help.

A new survey from i Travelport, a U.K. travel tech company, shows millennials to be the most likely to take a vacation this year. They’re also are most likely to spend more on their upcoming vacations than other age groups.

One out of three in this group of 18- to 34-year-olds said they are willing to spend $5,000 or more on their vacations, according to the 2018 Travelport U.S. Vacation Survey of about 1,500 U.S. residents. Erika Moore, Travelport’s Vice President and General Manager for the United States, said Travelport’s survey is good news for the U.S. travel industry, adding that Americans are cautiously optimistic about taking vacations this summer and next year.

“The key is offering consumers, regardless of their budgets, the best air, hotel and other vacation deals, which requires travel providers and travel sellers to deliver a personalized, seamless and stress-free experience at each step of the vacation journey,” Moore said in a statement.

Overall, more than 38 percent of those surveyed said they were more likely to take a vacation this summer compared to last summer. More than half of millennials, about 56 percent, plan to travel more this summer compared to summer 2017. In contrast, just 35 percent of Gen X respondents, ages 35-54, and 22 percent of baby boomers, ages 55 and older, expect to do more vacationing this summer. Millenials also plan to vacation more in the next 12 months compared to last year, with 55 percent planning to increase their vacation plans. That compares to 31 percent of Gen X and 20 percent of baby boomers.

The survey found men are significantly more likely to splurge than women, with 37 percent of men planning to spend more than $5,000 in the next 12 months, compared to only 15 percent of female respondents. Baby boomers are least likely to increase their plans to travel in the next year compared to last year, likely because this demographic has established a consistent approach to planning and going on vacation, according to Moore.

More than 78 percent said they would travel either the same amount or less in the next 12 months.

Surprisingly, for hotel bookings, 23 percent of millennials are the most likely to use traditional offline travel agencies compared to 7 percent of Gen X and 6 percent of baby boomers.

Key to marketing to this group is convenience and customized technology. Millennials, who have grown up using digital technologies, are more likely to use a travel agency to book travel if a mobile app with customized notifications are available, according to the survey. While 44 percent of millennials are willing to make the switch to apps, only 23 percent of Gen X respondents and only 5 percent of baby boomers would do that. The research findings are based on a study conducted by Toluna, a certified member of the Market Research Foundation and a founding member of the Insights on Demand Consortium, using TolunaAnalytics, a web-based real-time data visualization and analytics tool.

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