Source: Hipmunk

For the third year in a row, Hipmunk polled U.S. travelers of all ages to find out more about the travel habits and trends of millennials, gen Xers, and baby boomers. The generational gap among travelers is widening due to the different travel habits of millennials. What travel preferences do millennials have that others don't? What do millennials really want? How do millennial travelers compare to other generations? Here are the results according to Hipmunk's survey:  

Hipmunk's study found that 38% of millennials consider themselves to be adventurists rather than tourists. Millennials are forging new norms for leisure and business travel, making technology, in-the-know experiences, and adrenaline-rush adventures. Millennials don’t just want to observe other countries but rather submerge themselves into them. They want experiential travel. (See “Tourism Consumers Want Experiential Travel.”) They want to experience the world to satisfy their curious minds. In the words of Hellen Keller, “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”  Survey Methodology: The survey was conducted on Hipmunk’s behalf by Market Cube between February 5 and 9, among 1650 adults (22% of respondents were aged 18 to 34)

The Millennial:  18-34 years old

This is the most populous generation. There are more Millennials than Generation Xers, Baby Boomers. Millennials love to travel. They love customized, unique experiences

 The GEN Xer: 35-54 years old

Family life shapes the travel preferences of Generation X. The timing of their trips closely follows school calendars, and their destinations are closer to home.

The Baby Boomer: 55+

Baby Boomers have the money to travel – and they do. As Boomers transition into retirement, travel ranks among their top activities.

Travelers Planning on Taking More Leisure Trips This Year:

Millennials: 72%

Gen Xers: 59%

Baby Boomers: 40%

Millennials currently dominate business travel. In fact, 80% are going to travel more for work in 2016 than 2015 “Bleisure” (business and leisure) is a real phenomenon, and the majority of millennials are looking into vacation rentals during their business trips.

Travelers Who Consider Themselves Travel Hackers Who Can Work the System to Get Deals:

Millennials: 50%

Gen Xers: 26%

Baby Boomers: 12%

Because many millennials haven’t reached high-earning salaries yet, they've found the best methods to get the best travel deals.

Travelers Planning to Check Off a Bucket List Destination This Year:

Millennials: 60%

Gen Xers: 35%

Baby Boomers: 21%

Millennials are ready for big adventures. They crave nature, seek outdoor activities and activity-based trips. As spontaneous beings, they’re ready to go anywhere, anytime! With 75% of them having valid passports, 60% of millennials will take a vacation outside the United State this year!

Travelers Who Prefer Staying in on Vacations:

Millennials: 44%

Gen Xers: 23%

Baby Boomers: 11%

 Millennials don’t want to just stay in during vacation. They want to venture out and experience the destination. They’re a generation with very curious and adventurous minds.

Travelers Who Use Credit Cards to Earn Hotel Points or Flight Miles:

Millennials: 54%

Gen Xers: 36%

Baby Boomers: 28%

Millennials find it worth it to remove friction points that can make travel a bit frustrating. They’re more likely to use pre-check services like TSA/Clear. Also, half of millennials say they’d be willing to pay extra for a child-free flight. 

Number of Travelers Who Extend a Business Trip Into a Leisure Trip: 

Millennials: 55%

Gen Xers: 28%

Baby Boomers: 25%

Millennial travelers want to explore and see the world as much as they can. That means that if it's possible for them to extend their business trip into an experiential travel adventure, they surely will. 

Is Wifi The Most Important In-Flight Amenity for Traveling?

Millennials: 41%

Gen Xers: 33%

Baby Boomers: 16%

 It’s no secret that millennials are a generation who are connected 24/7. They’re tech savvy and can easily learn important travel tricks and tools. They also get travel ideas from social media, with 44% of them getting travel inspiration from YouTube videos and 28% from Instagram.

Travelers Who Would Take a Leisure Trip Without Gadgets:

Millennials: 8%

Gen Xers: 11%

Baby Boomers: 25%

 This number shouldn’t be surprising, since the generation is connected 24/7. Millennials use their tech gadgets to stay connected while on vacation as well as to document their experiences digitally.

30% of all Americans say they took no leisure trips last year. However, 82% of millennials did. 7% of millennials took over 10 leisure trips last year, compared to just 3% of the general population. Fortunately for travel companies, 54% of ALL generations plan to travel more this year in comparison to last year.

Millennials travel to set off on new adventures they've never experienced before. At the Travel & Adventure Show, the majority of attendees are itching to take experiential/active vacations.

 The types of vacations TAS attendees want to take

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