An extensive report into how technology and new market demands will shape the travel industry has been unveiled by Expedia and business travel arm Egencia.
Report on industry’s future reveals Millennials want to ‘travel smarter’
An extensive report into how technology and new market demands will shape the travel industry has been unveiled by Expedia and business travel arm Egencia.
The survey of more than 8,500 people explores Millennial travellers – those born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s – in detail to discover what impact they will have as they gain decision-making power at work and purchasing power in their personal lives.
Key insights from the Future of Travel report for the UK include:
- The convergence of business and leisure travel: They are more likely to extend a business trip into a personal holiday than older employees are. More than half (56%) of British Millennials have done so, compared with only 22% of those over 35.
- Data sharing: 61% of British Millennial respondents save data (such as passport details, credit card information and contact details) online to streamline the travel booking process, compared to only 38% of non-Millennials. Furthermore, 86% of Millennials would be more inclined to store additional data in return for incentive rewards compared to just 51% of non Millennials.
- Reviews: 90% of British Millennials admit that travel reviews are important for leisure travel, compared to 73% of non-Millennial travellers. Furthermore, 75% of Millennials agree this is also important for business travel, compared to just 57% of non-Millennials.
Expedia worldwide senior vice president and head of retail Gary Morrison said: “On the cusp of a technological revolution for the travel industry, we wanted to take a deeper look at how we can better address and anticipate the evolving needs of this Millennial generation.
“The importance of mobile to these travellers is already having a huge impact on travel booking. For Expedia, that has meant a new responsive design approach.
“By anticipating and preparing for new trends, we continue to support and delight travellers. With our unparalleled insight into emerging travel patterns, together with the technology and expertise to respond fast, we will continue to do so well into the future.”
Rob Greyber, president of Egencia added: “Millennials want to travel smarter and adopt new technology faster. Technology is accelerating this trend by making business travel ‘personal’ again.
“By providing contextualised, multiplatform travel solutions and services on the go, like Egencia TripNavigator, we are directly supporting the future traveller’s need for speed, flexibility and instant access to global travel content.”
