Nowadays, more and more companies and destinations are aimed at young people/travellers with the goal of diversifying its customer mix. This segment, according to UNWTO, cited in Hosteltur, 2013, represent 20% of the global tourism, showing amazing resilience to crisis and disasters. Between the years of 2000 and 2010, youth tourism rose from 136 million of international trips to 187 millions, and the revenues of this segment reached 126,000 million of Euros in 2010 (approximately 93,000 million pounds)
What age group should be considered as youth travel? The truth is that there is not any exact definition, therefore, different tourism administration have different definitions about what the …show more content…
It is also estimated that by 2020 there will be around 300 millions youth trips per year, according to UNWTO forecasts (The Power of Young Travel, UNWTO and WYSE, 2011). Therefore, it is undeniable the great opportunity young travel represents for the tourism industry, becoming one of the main challenges to be taken into account for tourism destinations. 6.2.2 Why youth travel is important
Youth travel is important for the tourism industry because it represents a market for the future development of young people and the places they visit. According to (The Power of Young Travel, UNWTO and WYSE, 2011), it is believed that:
- Young people who travel tend to spend more than any other tourist.
- Young travellers are more likely to give more value to the destinations.
- Young travellers represent a growth market contrasting the spending power of old generations from Western economies, which might fall in the long term.
- Young people tend to discover new destinations since they are more …show more content…
Therefore, the power of young travel to the tourism industry is obvious. Young people are the future! And, if a destination wants to success as a travel destination, they should focus in the needs of young travel. Moreover, in order to maximize these benefits, Official Tourism Organizations and governments should work together with also other public and private organizations to take advantage of the potential of young