My Community and Me


Before we explore how these generations perceive and experience destinations, we need to explore their values and priorities to better understand where they’re coming from – their frame of reference.


When we asked respondents to note how important current social issues are, we found that the Youth Cohort was generally more passionate – marking most issues as important or very important. (Troughout Generationally Speaking, members of Generation Z and Trailing Millennials may be grouped together in the “Youth Cohort.”) Te greatest statistical difference was on the issue of wildlife conservation, where 48% of the Youth Cohort found it important, less than a third (31%) of Baby Boomers found it important. Conversely, nearly all generations find “equal pay for men and women” equally important, with an overall range between generations of just 7% points.


Although their passions are strong, the Youth Cohort is less likely to support charities than Baby Boomers. 67% of Gen. Z and Trailing Millennials, and 78% of Leading Millennials and Gen. X, have donated time or money to a charitable cause, as opposed to Baby Boomers’ 82%. H2R’s researchers hypothesize that these generations have greater debt and lower incomes than their older counterparts did at their age, supported by a recent Federal Reserve report, which may contribute to inhibiting their ability to donate funds.


In our study, the Youth Cohort most commonly used the words “liberal, impatient, responsible,


Importance of Social Issues


and connected” to describe themselves; while Baby Boomers most commonly described this cohort as “self-absorbed, impatient, short attention-span, and distracted.” Although both generations certainly agree on “impatient” (is that intern back with my Americano yet?), the Youth Cohort strongly disagreed with the “self-absorbed” categorization. Te attention span isn’t a myth, either. A recent study by ComScore revealed that Millennials’ average attention span for advertising is just five seconds. (As a point of reference, reading that last sentence takes six seconds – we timed it.) While Boomers would view this as having a short attention span, Millennials would note that they’re just being efficient – or as Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, may call it, “thin-slicing.”


Conversely, Boomers view themselves as “hardworking, responsible, self-reliant, and charitable.” Interestingly enough, the Youth Cohort agrees with “hardworking and responsible,” but follows those with “conservative and liberal.” Tere may be a drop of self-identifying wisdom that comes with age, but it’s certainly interesting that the third identifier for the youth of Boomers is their political alignment.


As Gen. Z/Trailing Millennials continue to visit attractions, food and beverage will likely become more important to the experience. Tis group is 10% more likely to see food and beverage as a differentiator; and if you really want to differentiate, find an opportunity to provide some calm and quiet.


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