11
July
2019
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07:01
Europe/Amsterdam

From ambitious bucket lists to travel itineraries packed with adventure, Gen Z travellers can’t wait to experience the world

 

  • Booking.com releases the most comprehensive global research into the wants and needs of the next generation of global travellers - Gen Z
  • This is the generation most excited and optimistic about their future travel and they’re ready to go at it alone
  • Globally, Gen Z prioritizes travel spend over material possessions and six in ten (60%) think that travel is always worth spending money on

Auckland, New Zealand, 9 July 2019 - With the power to shape the future, Gen Z (aged 16-24) is coming of age and are on their way to discovering the world. Already the subject of much speculation, many have assumed how this generation will behave, but what do they actually have to say for themselves? In an increasingly connected world, with travel more accessible than ever before, Booking.com, has conducted global research with almost 22,000 respondents across 29 markets to get insights into the Gen Z traveller*, revealing not just their travel plans, but how these link to their wider aspirations for life.

Ambitious Adventurers

While many Gen-Zers have only just come of age they most certainly already know what they want when it comes to their travel plans:

  • Gen Z have an optimistic outlook on travel, with 67% of global travellers excited for all the places they’ll travel to in the future
  • More than a third of NZ Gen Z travellers (36%) plan to have visited at least three different continents over the next ten years and 31% intend to have studied or lived in a different country (43% female vs. 24% male)
  • Globally, Gen Z is a daring bunch with 56% wanting an adventure experience from their travels, such as paragliding or bungee jumping and 52% planning on visiting or trekking to an extreme location
  • Internationally, Gen Z is also the generation most likely to enhance their skills by learning something new while travelling in the next ten years (33%)
  • And it’s not just new skills they’ll be looking to learn, for 62% of NZ Gen Z travelling in their own country helps them to learn and discover more about themselves

Ready to go Solo

Many young travellers are already stepping out into the world with their family, with two fifths (42%) of Gen Z travellers indicating that they mainly do it because it allows them to go on trips that they would not otherwise have the funds for. But as Gen Z looks to fly the nest, they’re keen to do it alone.

  • Independence is a priority for this generation. Over the next ten years, a third of the world’s Gen Z (34%) plan to have travelled on their own at least once (36% women vs. 32% men)
  • Gen Z’s passion to ‘fly solo’ is further revealed with 24% of Kiwis saying they prefer to be alone when they travel (more so than all other age demographics) and 13% wanting to take a solo backpacking trip / gap year

Already Champions of the Bucket List

Over two thirds (69%) of Gen Z travellers worldwide have already compiled a travel bucket list (a list of things to do or see before they die), with this figure rising to 74% across Gen Z females (vs. 64% men).

Reasons for having a travel bucket list are varied:

  • Daydreamers: Over two fifths (44%) say it’s because they enjoy thinking about all the places that they’re going to travel to in their life
  • A never-ending list: Nearly one quarter (23%) say they get satisfaction from travelling to places on their bucket list as soon as possible so they can begin adding more new places. In fact, nearly a third (32%) of Gen Z plan to have checked at least five epic trips off their bucket list in the next ten years
  • Keeping on top of great destinations: Nearly one quarter (23%) say that having a bucket list helps them keep track of amazing places to travel to that they’ve never heard of before
  • Inspired by Insta: 44% have been inspired to make their own adventures by seeing influencers’ trips online

Having a travel bucket list doesn’t just reveal an intention to travel to new places, it also provides a deeper insight on the generation’s broader travel behaviors. For the 31% of Gen Z without a bucket list, the reasons also vary:

  • 22% feel their preferences change too frequently which is bound to affect their travel destinations
  • One in five (20%) say it’s because they opt to travel impulsively and don’t plan in advance
  • Surprisingly though Gen Z are the least likely of all age demographics to say they don’t have a bucket list because they like to travel impulsively
  • In fact, of the 49% of Baby Boomers (those 55+) who don’t have a bucket list, three in ten say they prefer to travel impulsively (30%) – the highest of all generations surveyed. Millennials (those aged 25-39) also travel more impulsively than Gen Z (26%).

Travel vs. Life Goals

Gen Z have grown up in a world where over the last decade or so, global financial and economic turbulence has become almost the norm, and so understanding their stance on finances (specifically how they plan to spend their money over the next five years), is a useful barometer for their overall outlook on life.

Six in ten (60%) Gen Zers think that travel is always worth investing in. And when it comes to prioritization, “travel and seeing the world” ranked as most important to this generation when thinking about how they spend their money (65%). Saving for ‘life’s biggest investment’ (property) came a close second and interestingly, more material possessions ranked lowest.

What Gen Z plans to spend their money over the next 5 years

% of global Gen Z travellers

% of NZ Gen Z travellers

Travelling and seeing the world

65%

55%

Saving for a down payment on a house / property

60%

59%

Investing in higher education / professional training

60%

53%

Saving for retirement

51%

39%

Spending money on experiences or products that are environmentally friendly

46%

42%

Saving for wedding/civil partnership

42%

37%

Buying new tech

33%

29%

Buying designer clothes/shoes/accessories

33%

28%

Unpacking Gen Z priorities

When questioned about how they’d prioritize spending their money, travel came out top in five out of seven choices for Gen Z, especially when compared to material possessions or more fleeting experiences. Travel ranked above the likes of furniture and homewares, clothes and fashion, tech and gadgets, eating at restaurants and spa and beauty treatments.

When thinking about how Gen Z would like to spend their money, this is how they would prioritize:

Travel (79%)

vs.

Spa / beauty treatments (21%)

Travel (68%)

vs.

Eating out at restaurants (32%)

Travel (62%)

vs.

Furniture / homewares (38%)

Travel (60%)

vs.

Clothes / fashion/shoes (40%)

Travel (58%)

vs.

Tech / gadgets (42%)

Out of office: on

Whether still contemplating their future vocation, or have just ventured into the workforce, the notion of a career is still pretty fresh, so its unsurprising that Gen Z rank getting a job as their most important life experience (80%). But with travel being such a passion point for this generation, prospective employers should take note, as 54% of Gen Z say the opportunity to travel for work is important when selecting a job and nearly six in ten (57%) say a job where they get to experience other cultures is attractive to them.

“As the first generation of digital natives comes of age, it’s exciting to see this research reveal that Gen Z travellers are a determined generation whose excitement to explore means that they have mapped out many of their future travel plans already,” said Ram Papatla, Vice President of Global Experiences at Booking.com. “Their affinity and comfort with technology dovetails perfectly with our ambition to learn and deliver an even more seamless, connected trip experience. We want to empower people of all ages to make the most out of every adventure, with their device as a powerful resource instead of a dependency - something Gen Z truly appreciates.”

To delve deeper into Booking.com’s insights of the Gen Z traveller, visit http://destinationgenz.com/ .

- Ends-

CONTACT DETAILS

For further information, contact the Booking.com NZ Press Office;

bookingnz@thisismango.co.nz

NOTE TO EDITORS

*Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among a sample size of 21,807 respondents aged 16 or over (25% of whom were aged 16-24) in 29 markets (including 1,000 each from Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China, Brazil, India, US, UK, Russia, Indonesia, Colombia and South Korea; and 600 each from Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Croatia, Taiwan, Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden, Singapore and Israel). Fieldwork was undertaken between 1 and16 May 2019. The survey was carried out online. All research and recruitment, unless otherwise stated, was carried out by Vitreous World, with analysis by Ketchum Analytics.

About Booking.com

Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com B.V. has grown from a small Dutch start-up to one of the largest travel e-commerce companies in the world. Part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.com now employs more than 17,500 employees in 198 offices in 70 countries worldwide.

With a mission to empower people to experience the world, Booking.com invests in digital technology that helps take the friction out of travel. At Booking.com, we connect travellers with the world’s largest selection of incredible places to stay, including everything from apartments, vacation homes, and family-run B&Bs to 5-star luxury resorts, tree houses and even igloos. The Booking.com website and mobile apps are available in 43 languages, offer over 28 million total reported listings, including more than 5.9 million listings of homes, apartments and other unique places to stay, and covers more than 150,000 destinations in 227 countries and territories worldwide.

Each day, more than 1.5 million room nights are reserved on our platform. So whether travelling for business or leisure, customers can instantly book their ideal place to stay quickly and easily with Booking.com, without booking fees and backed up by our promise to price match. Via our customer experience team, customers can reach Booking.com 24/7 for assistance and support in over 43 languages, any time of the day or night.

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