Trip Planning


Unsurprisingly, the Youth Cohort is more likely to use digital sources for travel inspiration, while more than a third (37%) use social media and more than three-fourths (76%) consult travel review sites for travel planning. Asking friends, family, and Google for travel recommendations remains strong and relatively aligned for all generations; however, Baby Boomers are significantly more likely to rely on the formal websites of attractions, and significantly less likely to consult social media.


Trend-setting Gen. Z and Trailing Millennials are significantly more likely to leverage younger, more niche social media platforms than their older counterparts. Interestingly enough, they’re actually 13% less likely to use Twitter than older generations, and 10% less likely to use Facebook. If your attraction doesn’t yet have a Snapchat or Instagram strategy, it may be time to hire a Gen. Z social media manager and get on board. Today’s marketing leaders are spending one third of their entire budgets on channels they didn’t know existed five years ago, and they expect that to grow to 40% within two years (Salesforce 2017 State of Marketing report). Two thirds of these same marketers intend to increase their social media marketing and ad spend over the next year.


When you take a look at Facebook’s Insights report, you’ll notice that there’s a lot of output data on “Fans.” It’s an interesting word choice, because the younger generations typically aren’t fans of anything – that was their parents’ style. Coming of age in a time of financial market collapse and white collar crime, and hitting the stride of their careers and beginning their own families in the time of “fake news” claims and Politico Truth-o-Meters, younger generations are having a harder and harder time trusting companies, organizations, and brands (yes, even yours). Research shows that they tend to put their faith in their friends and authentic online reviews. Tey don’t necessarily view themselves as fans, they view themselves as INFLUENCERS – not just voting with their money, but wielding power with the feedback they leave on TripAdvisor and Yelp (which South Park perfectly parodied in Fall of 2015 in “You’re Not Yelping”). Tey don’t just want to know about your attraction, but your corporate values and practices, how staff are treated, and the character of your leaders as well. It’s nearly impossible to sell directly to these generations; brands must earn their respect and trust by demonstrating their value and responsibility, and then ease into the sales pitch to create lifelong loyalty.


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