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Why Its Important to Understand What Millennials Want

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Millennials, that is anyone who was born in or after the early 80s, have become a highly sought-after demographic within the travel industry over the last couple of decades. Compared to older groups of travelers, they are a different beast entirely. In the following post, we are going to look at what makes them so different from those of past generations, how the travel and hospitality industry is catering to them, and why they are so important for the travel and hospitality economy on a global level.

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How Millennials Are Different From Older Travelers

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One of the most striking differences between millennials and travelers of older generations is the fact that they are more likely to book vacations on the fly, without much planning. This is, in part, we feel influenced by their need to seek out or have a sense of freedom and independence, even when it comes to where they actually travel. As they are really very savvy, more in the know than previous generations, they also want full control over the fine details of their trips.

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How Travel Agencies and Hotels Are Responding and Directly Marketing to Millennials

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Many important brands within the industry, whether travel agencies or hotels are specifically targeting millennials. Take Skyscanner, for example, which has taken significant steps to create a space perfect for the average millennial traveler – Everywhere. This feature helps millennials find the best deals for the airport they wish to depart from.

Another key way hotels have been marketing specifically towards millennials is by providing truly unique, local, and authentic offerings. For example, the InterContinental Hotels Group’s Hotel Indigo. This was launched first in 2004 and has properties in areas that are buzzing and has some beautifully trendy and unique décor that befits their locations. Take the Hotel Indigo Katong, which has deep Peranakan vibes influenced by the culture of the local area.

Millennials have a reputation for being curious and restless. Though, they are also very empowered and can be fickle. In the sense, they know what they want. They are also able to see through various advertising strategies and aren’t easily fooled.

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Why Its Crucial Travel Agencies, Tour Companies, and Hotels Are Successful in Attracting Millennials

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When you look at the numbers related to just how many millennials are traveling, it is hard to argue that the demographic is not important to the global travel and hospitality industry. In a report published by Forbes magazine in 2014, The WYSE, that’s the World Youth Student and Educational Travel Confederation predicted that around 320 million trips worldwide were likely to be made by younger millennials travels every year. Looking at the Asian market, though, youths in Asian countries are among the highest spending travels and it looks likely that by 2020 they will have spent around $340billion, as reported by Brand Karma, a hotel digital marketing agency when it appeared at the Millennial 20/20 summit in Singapore.

It’s no wonder really why so many in the travel and tourism industry put so much effort, time, and money into targeting younger travelers and holidaymakers.