How Travel Agents Can Enter the Youth Market?

Over the past few decades, the millennials travel market has undergone rapid development. It is quite evident that the youth travel market has developed from its original status and has emerged as a specialized niche. Moreover, institutions, employers and organizations have also begun to understand the social and economic value of youth travel. As a result, the travel young market has undergone tremendous changes and these distinctive impacts hold a much broader relevance in the travel and tourism industry and for travel agents as well.

In basic terms, youth travellers are people in their twenties and thirties. They are commonly referred to as travel millennials, echo boomers and the iGeneration. Youth travellers basically represent a market that has the money and is more than willing to spend it. These travellers face fewer financial restrictions than their parents and don’t have any immediate need to accumulate their wealth. Statistics show that by the year 2015, the Gen Y shall comprise of almost 50% of the working population in the world. The same statistics also show that almost 83% of the youth travellers like to plan and research their holidays.

So what does this say about the youth travel market and travel agents targeting youth travellers? What youngsters and youth travellers basically expect from their travel agent is that the agent should work like a travel advisor and offer them with the right suggestions and solutions that are custom designed to their likes and preferences.

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These travellers are less than likely to adjust to travel agencies that still use old fashioned marketing tactics to attract their customers. To enter the youth travel market, a travel agency needs to bring about two major changes. Firstly, they need to update and upgrade their technology and procedures. Secondly, they need to change their approach of selling holidays and travel ideas.

A youth traveller shall always be attracted to travel agents who optimize their websites to mobile marketing, agents who are active on social media networks, agents who make use of things like pictures and videos to sell their holidays and agents who concentrate on making things fast and simple. These travellers want to see images of other travellers like themselves enjoying and vouching for your holiday packages. They want to see ideas which cater to their interests, attract them at their own level and offer them with delights that they are hoping to enjoy during their upcoming holidays.

Here are a few facts that should help you understand what travel millenials look for while booking their holidays. 90% of the youth travellers are likely to search for more information about the destination. 80% of these travellers are also likely to gather information from different suppliers and compare their offerings and prices. 60% of the youth travellers base their decisions on travel reviews and almost 45% of these travellers are looking for special youth products.

One travel agency that really knows how to target and work with these millennials is Contiki. Contiki brands itself as a holiday expert for 18 – 35 year olds and tries to customize its journeys to suit youth travellers. A mere glance at its website is more than enough to understand that Contiki offers its youth travellers with a level of customization that is literally unheard of in the travel market.

To sum up, any travel agent looking to attract the millennials travel market, needs to offer solutions which cater to the preferences of these travel millennials.