The tourism industry continues to evolve and expand to meet the changing needs of travelers.Here are five major trends regarding tourism that all have to do with millennial takeover. Valentino Danchev, founder and President of Fidelis Marketing Group that specializes in luxury travel,identifies these trends as transformative travel, safe travel, simple travel, interactive travel and virtual travel.
Millennials Takeover Tourism
Millennial attitudes and preferences on travel are what is driving the industry forward. This is known as transformative travel. Generation Z’s mindset is the desire for adventure and authenticity. Curiosity and the craving to be a part of something greater influences them to travel. Social media gives millennials the inspiration to broadcast to their followers where they are going and what they are doing.Being an influencer on social media is a modern trend that continues to be the focus of many growing businesses. It is common for businesses or companies to do collaborations with social media influencers and have them post pictures on their feed promoting a certain clothing piece, product, brand, location or event. Collaborating with social media influencers sometimes can lead to traveling while promoting something on their Instagram feed.This type of travel is often luxurious. Luxury travel means millennials get to enjoy resorts, spas, and guided tours that are designed to cater to them.
Relaxation and Stress-Free Environments
Mental, emotional and physical stability are all apart of the new trend known as safe travel. This type of travel is catered towards millennialswho want to escape from the burdens of their modern realities. Social media also plays a big factor in why safe travel is trending. In modern times, almost anyone can be an influencer on social media or put up a social front of living a glamorous lifestyle due to their achievements in life. For those millennials who feel as though they have not achieved as much or feel they are not as successful as others based off visual achievements, they need an escape from feeling left behind. Travelingis a way of finding peace within themselves and escaping the burdens or pressures they may be facing in their day to day lives.
Simplicity for Superior Quality
Luxury vacations that are easy to book are leading the way in modern travel. Discriminating travelers are seeking travel arrangements to be done for them, despite self-service options abounding. Danchev knows that tourists don’t want to give up a luxurious vacation for simplicity and so paying the extra costs needed in order to hire travel agents to do the work for them is becoming more common. This is known as simple travel. Many of those who are seeking a luxurious vacation don’t have the time to plan a trip that is to their liking because they are busy with work, school and families. However, modern traveling brings new opportunities where having to laboriously plan your own luxurious vacation is not the only option anymore.
Hands-On Vacation
Luxury travel means that there must be options for different activities travelers can participate in while enjoying their vacation. Activities that are included in luxurious travel resorts may include several types of classes that can be taken. Whether this is cooking, art, fitness, entertainment, outdoor activities or cultural experiences, travelers like to keep busy while on vacation. Keeping busy is not the only type of hands-on activities that can be done, but for those who are seeking more of a relaxing pace, resorts offer services such as massages or other full-service spa options. Danchev notes that“attracting millennial consumers means considering the type of lifestyle they want to experience while on vacation.”
Technology Usage
A recent trend that has been on the rise is known as virtual travel. This type of travel allows tourists to view a virtual reality of a certain destination before going. Rather than being disappointed upon arrival about the location or other aspects of the trip, potential travelers can vet destinations beforehand. An example would be using Google Maps and viewing a surrounding of a destination. Other technological tools include social media and YouTube. Through social media, users can view pictures at a certain travel location by looking up the destination in the search bar and see what other users have posted via pictures or videos. YouTube can be used by searching the travel destination and seeing what type of videos have been posted. Although virtual travel is not 100% accurate, it does help give an idea to the traveler whether or not the destination is a good fit.
These five trends will continue to impact the industry. Resorts and operators that best accommodate their offerings to fit these trends will find the greatest success.
