Poll: Millennials Keen on Luxury Travel, Know Their Stuff

The largest age group traveling at the moment: millennials, are better educated, have a higher sensitivity towards overtourism and take heed of terror warnings, prefer city breaks, and love luxury, according to special report released recently by IPK International and ITB Berlin.

According to ITB-IPK’s World Travel Monitor, half of all luxury trips are made by millennials. Indicatively, outbound trips by millennials (aged 18-38) grew by 15 percent in 2017 compared to the previous year, accounting for a market share of over 40 percent of all global outbound trips.

At the same time, due to better jobs and increasing income, millennials account for half of all international luxury trips – with expenditure over 750 euros per night.

The majority of millennial travelers come from the US, followed by China, the UK and Germany – which combined hold a market share of 35 percent of all millennial outbound travel.

Favorite destinations in 2017 for the group were the US, Spain, Germany and France, while Japan, South Korea, India and Australia and Europe, saw an above average share of millennial visitors. Destinations with a below average share of millennial visitors were Austria and China.

The average millennial travels for leisure, with one third going on city trips while only 15 percent traveling for business. Favorite activities include sight-seeing, city experiences, shopping and food. The second most important holiday type is sun & beach holidays.

According to ITB-IPK analysts, millennials are more sensitive to overtourism and more likely to avoid overcrowded destinations. They also are more likely to take heed of terror warnings compared to all international travelers.

At the same time, the group is better educated and well informed, with nine in 10 seeking information online through travel blogs, travel forums and social media channels before travel.

Lastly, the report found that millennial females travel more than males of the same bracket.

World Travel Monitor findings are based on representative interviews with more than 500,000 people in over 60 travel markets worldwide.

The final results of the World Travel Monitor for 2018, as well as the latest forecasts for 2019, will be presented at ITB Berlin 2019, to take place on March 6-10.