Several habits change according to each generation. It is no different with tourism, whose demands transform as new age groups begin to make decisions about how, when and where to travel. In recent years, generation Z is the one who has dictated the Tendencies.
This is a public that was born between 1995 and 2010, and is made up of digital natives, that is, people who have access to technology since birth. In fact, these young people are among those mainly responsible for driving Brazilian tourism post-pandemic, according to research commissioned by Google from Offerwise, released in 2023.
What are the interests of generation Z
Young adults are mainly looking for authentic experiences. According to a global survey by YouGov, from 2022, 45% of them want to travel with unique opportunities, in addition to prioritizing greater contact and spending money with local people and companies (40%).
Generation Z is also very connected to the environment: 38% look for ecological accommodation, 34% look for travel offers sustainable and 21% prioritize flights with lower CO2 emissions, according to the same study. Another concern is security, which is now at the top of priorities when to plan a walk.
Not surprisingly, they are interested in voluntourism (travelling to do volunteer work), music festivals, ecotourism and adventure tourism.
How new generations plan their trip
While baby boomers (born before the 1960s), Generation X (born between 1960 and 1980) and even millennials (born between 1981 and 1995) still turn to travel agents to plan their vacation, Gen Z does everything online and rarely hires an expert.
To organize a trip, half of this public follows recommendations from family and friends. At the same time, 20% use social media, such as Instagram and Tiktok, to seek out tourism influencers and get tips about their next destination, says the YouGov survey.
Preferred destinations and accommodation options
The Google survey indicates that travelers from Brazil are more interested in visiting the North East – searches for these destinations grew by 9 percentage points compared to 2019 –, farm hotels and resorts (up 6 pp), Brazilian cities with ecotourism (up 4 pp) and European countries (up 4 pp).
Greater attention to spending after the pandemic has been stimulating domestic tourism. And, for the same reason, shorter trips are also on the rise – search for three-day trips, for example, grew by 130% in the first months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
In relation to accommodation options, location has become one of the decisive factors when deciding on a stay. The study, which is based on research carried out by users of the platform, showed that the search for hotels together with the term “well-located” it grew by 238% between 2023 and the previous year.
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