MILLENNIAL travellers are big on loyalty and mobile technology when it comes to leisure and business travel.
According to Expedia.com and Egencia’s Future of Travel report, half of millennials (defined as those between 18 and 30 years of age) say loyalty programmes are important when booking flights (48 per cent) or hotels (51 per cent). Conversely, only three out of 10 travellers in the 46- to 65-year-old bracket found loyalty programmes important for flights (31 per cent) and hotels (30 per cent).
When it comes to booking business travel, 32 per cent of those 30 and under report using a smartphone and 20 per cent use a tablet, compared to just 12 per cent for smartphone and nine per cent for tablet for those over 45.
The importance of online reviews for all travel-related services was also underscored. Millennials on business were most likely to post a negative review online though only 33 per cent have done so. Nevertheless, 77 per cent and 82 per cent of millennials on business and leisure trips considered reviews “very important” or “somewhat important”.
Results also showed that millennials travel the most – 4.7 times per year on business and 4.2 times for leisure compared to 3.6 and 2.9 for 30- to 45-year-olds and 4.2 and 3.2 for 46- to 65-year-olds.
Millennials were found to be more comfortable mixing business and pleasure, with 62 per cent having extended a business trip for a personal holiday compared to 51 per cent of 31- to 45-year-olds and 37 per cent for 46- to 65-year-olds.
They are also freer with their company’s money when travelling – 42 per cent said they would spend more of their company’s money on high-end meals, while only 26 per cent of those aged 46 to 65 would.
The global study drew its conclusions from the responses of 8,535 employed adults in 24 countries between August 20 and September 12.
