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With millennials now making up
27.5% of the global population, they are very much the ones setting new trends and reshaping the way we view travelling, with a lot of countries and cities now being more popular than ever, thanks to this generation.
While Generation Z will soon be taking charge in terms of dictating what areas are most popular for tourists to visit, as of right now, it is the millennials born during the 1980s and 1990s who are going on the most adventures, which is why these statistics are so important.
Today, we’re going to take a closer look at how exactly millennials enjoy travelling, and how this has changed from previous years, to better understand what trends are beginning to emerge and become the most prevalent within the tourism industry.
Essential Millennial Travel Statistics 2022/2023
Here are some of the basic statistics regarding millennials and the massive role they play in the world of travel and tourism.
- 85% of millennials prioritize eco-friendly destinations. While specific data from 2023 might not be readily available, several sources support this trend. American Express' 2023 Global Travel Trends report states that 82% of Gen Z and millennials are interested in vacations with minimal environmental impact.
- 82% of millennials travelled abroad in the past 4 years compared to 75% in other generations. Pew Research Center data from 2019 indicated that 79% of millennials had passports, compared to 72% of Gen X and 54% of boomers. Travel statistics during pre-pandemic years also suggest higher travel frequency among millennials.
- Based on findings from a survey conducted by Condor Ferries, it was revealed that 82% of individuals belonging to the millennial generation embarked on travels in the previous year, in contrast to 75% of individuals from all other generations. Furthermore, millennials averaged 6 trips annually, surpassing the figures for Gen Z at 4.4 trips, Gen X at 4.0 trips, and Boomers at 3.5 trips.
- 97% of millennials post on social media about travel. Numerous reports, including American Express and Condor Ferries', highlight social media's influence on travel decisions and sharing experiences.
- As per a study by iPropertyManagement.com, online bookings for leisure travel show that millennials constitute 40% of the user base.
- Based on information from American Express, 71% of millennials express a willingness to make an equal or greater number of travel plans than they did before the pandemic. In contrast, only 49% of boomers share the same inclination in 2022 and 2023.
Millennials travel more compared to boomers. American Express' data indicates that in 2022 and 2023, 71% of millennials are willing to make the same amount of travel plans or more compared to pre-pandemic times, compared to 49% of boomers
Data And Statistics On Why Millennials Travel
It’s clear from the statistics above that millennials are by far the most prominent and relevant group in travel, and they are the ones generating the most revenue for the tourist and travel industry in general.
However, what is it that encourages millennials to travel in the first place? Here is what the statistics from the last 2 years tell us:
- While specific data for 2023 might not be widely available, according to the American Express Travel Trends Report, there is a rising trend in food-driven travel, particularly among younger travellers. Specifically, 47% of Gen-Z and Millennials have organised entire trips around visiting a specific restaurant, in contrast to the 37% reported by respondents overall.
- 62% of millennials prioritise visiting a location where they can focus on personal wellness. Several sources, including the American Express Global Travel Trends report, highlight the importance of wellness experiences for millennials while travelling.
- Numerous reports, including those from Condor Ferries and Expedia, confirm that social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram significantly impact millennials' travel choices. A weekly usage rate of at least 87% is reported among American millennials on Facebook, and in January 2021, 33.1% of Instagram users in the United States belonged to the millennial demographic. Findings from a WBL survey reveal that 72% of millennials make beauty product purchases influenced by Instagram posts, and an additional 82% of millennials tend to make impulse purchases when sufficiently captivated by a product.
- Over 75% of millennials admit to being inspired to visit a destination after seeing it on a TV show, a news source, or in a movie
- 66% of millennial travellers book their travel using a smartphone. 74% use their smartphone to research their holiday or trip. 75% have installed travel apps on their smartphone, compared with other generations at 47%.
- 45% of millennials admit to organising a trip to visit a food festival
- In a survey conducted by Condor Ferries, it was found that 60% of millennials regard authentic culture as the essential component of their travel experience, and 78% express a desire for their travels to be educational, seeking opportunities to learn.
- As indicated in a blog post by Roller Software, Millennials constitute more than 73% of the United States population and fall within the age range of 26 to 41 at present.
- In a blog post by Dream Big Travel Far, 31% of individuals intending to travel within the next 6 months are planning to embark on solo journeys, with millennials and Gen Z standing out as the demographic most inclined to travel independently.
- In 2022, 67% of millennials said that they would like to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime trip at some point in the next year
- According to research in 2022, Millennials make up 25% of global travellers and spend $180 billion annually on travel.
One emerging trend that we can immediately notice, and that will no doubt only grow as statistics for Generation Z start to become public, is the incredibly important influence of social media and popular culture on travel decisions.
This, paired with the absence of travel caused by the pandemic, has given millennials plenty of reasons to explore other areas of the world as much as they do.
Where Do Millennials Travel?
In terms of where these travel destinations are, many have remained consistently popular travel destinations for every generation in order from 1-10 being: France, Spain, United States, China, Italy, Turkey, Mexico, Germany, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
Here are the
Top 10 Millennial Travel Destinations Trending Up in 2022 and early 2023.
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Budapest, Hungary
- Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
- Bali, Indonesia
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Hawaii, United States
- Marrakech, Morocco
- Tulum, Mexico
- Cancún, Mexico
- Santorini, Greece
What should be noted here is that sunny tropical-esque islands are skyrocketing in popularity, seemingly replacing the big and bustling cities that have been so popular among previous generations.
American Express Travel featured some alternate destinations for 2024 as well:
- Adelaide Hills, Australia
- Bodrum, Türkiye
- Cervo, Italy
- Kitts & Nevis
- Niseko, Japan
- San Miguel De Allende, Mexico
- Santa Fe, New Mexico, US
- The Seychelles
- Udaipur, India
- Zermatt, Switzerland
How Much Do Millennials Spend On Travel?
Some incredibly interesting and revealing trends have emerged regarding what has inspired millennials to travel and the destinations they decided to visit, but what might be the most fascinating of them all is how much millennials spend.
Here is the
average expenditure each generation spends per trip, recorded from 2020-2023:
- Baby Boomers: $6126
- Gen Xers: $5060
- Millennials: $4141
- Gen Zs: $2788
Approximately
33% of millennials allocate budgets of $5000 or more for their annual travel spending. Despite taking more trips annually, millennials are not the highest spenders. On average, excluding airfare, millennials in the United States spend
$1,373 on summer vacations. In contrast, Baby Boomers allocate
$1,865, and Generation X budgets
$2,628 for their summer vacations.
Furthermore, when it comes to business flights,
46% of millennials engage in such spending, in comparison to
34% of Gen X,
16% of Boomers, and only
1% of the Silent generation.
Millennials are much more cautious about how they spend their money compared to previous generations, which can be accredited to the financial troubles that can come with trying to maintain the cost of living at home.
There is also the burden of student loans which has put even more stress on millennials’ budgets and financial freedom.
This has made it extremely difficult for them to spend as liberally compared to baby boomers for example who worked at a time when economic conditions tended to be a lot more favourable.
How Do Millennials Enjoy Travelling? (Solo Or In A Group)
While many millennials enjoy
travelling solo, the majority of this generation has also emphasised the importance of embarking on a journey with friends by your side, making tourism and travelling seem like a much more sociable activity in recent years.
Here are some of the major stats that represent this trend:
- Solo Travel Preferences:
- 60% of millennials express a desire for solo travel in 2022/2023, slightly higher than the 58% reported for 2020/2021.
- 1 in 4 millennials and Gen Z individuals have concrete plans to travel alone in the upcoming year.
- Traveling Preferences with Friends and Groups:
- 58% of millennials enjoy travelling with friends and in larger groups.
- Weekend Getaways: 69% of millennials plan weekend trips, significantly contrasting to previous generations, where only 13% do so.
- Traveling with Children:
- 44% of millennials with children have travelled together, and among them, 62% did so with children under five years old.
- Solo Travel among Millennial Women:
- 26% of millennial women have experienced solo travel.
- 27% of millennial respondents, while not having done solo travel, express openness to considering it in the future.
We can see from these statistics above that the millennial generation is most concerned with personal growth and learning when arranging their travelling plans which is reflected in how solo travel is becoming much more popular as the years go by.
That isn’t to say that travelling with friends is any less relevant however, as it is still very popular among millennials, especially considering how easy it is to establish travel plans with friends from around the world through social media.
This is also evident when looking at how much more millennials travel on the weekend compared to previous generations. These quick and often last-minute journeys are a great way to relax with a few friends, so sociable travelling has grown in its appeal over the generations.
However, it is the astronomical rise of solo travelling that seems to be the most fascinating trend that has been revealed by studying millennial travel data.
Travelling for this generation has shifted slightly from simply relaxing in warm weather, to becoming an experience which is seen as a great opportunity to empower and allow a person to experience the world in a way that can change their outlook on life in general.
Summary
There is so much we can learn about the current state of travelling when analysing statistics and data related to millennials, the most dominant group in the world of tourism today.
While social media has become an enormous factor in regards to where people are most likely to visit, a cultural emphasis on mental health and general well-being has also made solo travelling far more popular among this generation when compared to previous ones.
Due to the rise of living costs and the pressure of student loans, data has also shown that millennials spend a lot less while on a trip compared to other generations.
We can only expect many of these trends, especially those related to social media and the internet, to continue and become even bigger when more travel data is available for Generation Z.
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