The peak summer travel season is upon us. With the Travel and Leisure segment making up almost one out of every nine jobs, marketing to those using these services is BIG business. See the July 4th blog titled The Leisure and Hospitality Segment — More than 1 Out of Every 10 Jobs in the US — and Growing.
Today service and product providers are becoming highly skilled at understanding their customers and that the one-size-fits-all approach is no longer the most effective route to connect. General differences between Millennials (aged 18 to 34), Gen Xers (aged 35 to 50) and Baby Boomers (aged 51 to 71) allow marketers to target these three largest demographic groups in the U.S. To do so requires an understanding of the wants, desires and actions intrinsic to each generational cohort. How and where they travel impacts the demand for a wide array of real estate.
What are the differences in generations in destination travel today? To address this, ADWEEK, in the June 1, 2015 issue, presented an infographic-article of the results of a survey of destination travel across generational groups completed by the Shullman Research Center. They surveyed consumers with households earning more than $75,000 annually and reported the results by Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers.
Some of the findings – many of which met expectations and others that surprised me – included:
The Average Value of Domestic Destination Travel was Greatest for Millennials – International Least for Baby Boomers
Contrary to my expectations, Millennials spend more than either Gen Xers or Baby Boomers per domestic destination trip. I also had thought that given life-long-work and bucket-list trips that Baby Boomers would spend the most on international travel – but they are exceeded by both Gen Xers and Millennials. Baby boomers spend the least across the three cohorts in both domestic and international destination travel.
Millennials Have a Greater Propensity for International Destination Travel
While my expectation was that Baby Boomers would travel more internationally, Millennial’s intent is actually do so.
The Older Aged the Cohort, the Greater that Travel is for Pleasure – but not too different
While Baby Boomers traveled more for pleasure, which I expected, the percentage was just 5 percent greater than Millennials and 4 percent above Gen Xers.
The Top U.S. Destinations Vary Across the Generational Cohorts
Again these results surprised me. I expected that the unique Millennials would have new exotic destinations that Baby Boomers and Gen Xers had overlooked or not yet found. Not the case. Hawaii was the top domestic destination for Millennials, Nevada and Las Vegas for Baby Boomers, while Gen Xers are bi-coastal to either Florida or California.
Top International Destinations
When it comes to international travel, Millennials top preferences are Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Mexico. Boomers ranked Europe, the Caribbean and Canada as tops. Gen Xers went agreed in order with Boomers, but with different magnitudes.
To read the entire Data Points short article and infographic in the June 1, 2015 issue of ADWEEK click http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/infographic-how-your-generation-influences-way-you-travel-165070
How we travel, where we travel and why we travel impacts demand for real estate – and that changes availability, rents and ultimately property values.
When it comes to value, it’s all about supply and demand.
Current and coming generation’s travel will impact and alter rents and values.
As Newton’s Third Law of Motion says, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” While Newton thought of himself as a physicist and mathematician, he was in actuality one of the top real estate economists of all time.
Ted