Generation Y Leads the Charge to Find Exciting Travel Destinations

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New travel data suggests that 80% of British travellers are considering a holiday abroad this year compared with only 66% in 2012, and that 82% expect to spend an equal amount of money or more on it as last year, compared with 76% who said the same thing in 2014.

And it turns out that Generation Y – people aged 20 to 34 – are spearheading this movement to travel further and spend more. They consistently outstrip any other age group in their plans to visit Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, Australasia, and Central and South America.

Jon Young, Associate Director of the BDRC Continental Holiday Trends Report 2015 which gathered the data explains the trend: “Generation Y looks for something new and it definitely seems to permeate every part of their lives; it is driven by social media, where people are constantly showing off the things they’re doing.”

Because Generation Y are also less likely to be on the mortgage ladder and have less disposable income than their compatriots a generation ago, they are seen to value experiences over possessions, and are thus far more likely to book a trip to the Caribbean than buy something like a fancy new fridge.

Unfortunately for the domestic market, trips within the UK don’t really appeal to this age group because it isn’t considered very exciting. If Generation Y holidays at home, it’s usually for reasons of cost or because it’s “less hassle” in the case of 40% of respondents.