Habits of Current Travelers

At the 27^th annual Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, Nev, one of the hottest topics of discussion was the relatively new concept that four different generations (matures, baby boomers, gen Xers and millennials) are traveling concurrently and more frequently than ever.

A panel discussion brought together four different travel advisors each catering largely to one of the generations. The panel included Kelly Grumbach of Quintessentially Travel; Jack Ezon of Ovation Vacations; Patricia Carranza of Turismo Exmar; and Tony Huffman of Huffman Travel. Each shared their perspectives on travel as it relates to the various generations.

Matures are just as into active/adventure travel as other generations and they are not sedentary. Multigenerational travel is large among this contingent and popular destinations tend to be African safaris and Europe. Many currently traveling millennials received their love of travel from embarking on multigenerational trips as children and young adults.

Baby boomers also take multigenerational trips, and they prefer to have everything pre-arranged and confirmed for their trips. Popular hot spots are Peru, Asia and safaris, while terrorism remains the biggest safety concern.

Gen X’ers are acting more like millennials and appreciate transparency when it comes to travel. This group is traveling the most frequently for the shortest amount of time and flocking to destinations such as St. Barth’s and San Tropez.

Millennials can be demanding as they have a lot of needs, but they like to work hard and play hard. Taking full advantage of weekend, they tend to book more last-minute trips. Favorite destinations include Cuba, Bhutan, France and Italy — or anywhere they can Instagram before their friends. As the No. 1 segment paying service fees, millennials are seeking an exclusivity around all experiences. When it comes to hotels, they are looking less for the name brand, and more for hotels to be a guide to the destination.

Gastronomy, health, fitness and spas are travel trends across all four generations. Also across the traveling population, travel advisors are seeing an increased use of tour guides.