Gurgaon, Haryana: Expedia®, world’s largest full service online travel agency, released the results of the Generational Study, a report exploring the travel preferences and behavior of consumers across multiple generations. The report also highlights online travel searching and booking habits and critical details that influence travel consumer trends and action. The study suggests that over than 85% of Indians have personally booked travel online (Boomer: 85%, Gen X: 86%, Millennial: 90, Gen Z: 70%) in the last year.

Mr. Manmeet Ahluwalia, Marketing Head, Expedia in India said, “Travel is becoming a crucial part of life, especially with the younger generations- Millennials and Gen Z. While 61% of Gen Z are willing to get a part-time job to save money to go on a leisure trip, 91% Millennials save money for travel. Travel is not just a getaway, but also a time for self-reflection and introspection. No wonder the statistics suggest that 71% of millennials travelled alone last year.”

“We are also witnessing the older generations catching up with the online marketplaces. They are getting more and more comfortable with online purchases, be it fashion, home furnishings or travel. The study points out that 86% Gen X and 85% Boomers personally booked travel online in the past year,” he added.

Detailed Findings

Traveler Profile & Behavior

More than 85% of Indians have personally booked online travel in the past year. Married people of all ages, particularly those with children, are the sweet spot for booking travel.

Boomer: 85%, Gen X: 86%, Millennial: 90%, Gen Z: 70%

Married: 91% and Non Married: 78%

With Kids: 87% and Without Kids: 80%

Saving for travel is a top priority, especially for Millennials while Gen Z is the least likely to implement this into their budget. Overall 83% save money for travel with 69% Gen Z, 91% Millennials, 80% Gen X and 75% Boomers saving money for travel.

There is higher propensity to spend extra money on experiences over products

Experiences: Gen Z- 57%, Millennials – 63%, Gen X- 62%, Boomers – 63%, Total-61%

Products: Gen Z- 43%, Millennials – 37%, Gen X- 38%, Boomers – 37%, Total-39%

Interestingly 70% Baby Boomers, 74% of Gen X, and 81% of Millennials are willing to spend half or more of 1,000,000 rupees on leisure travel, while 77% of Gen Z would allocate half or less to travel.

All: Gen Z- 5%, Millennials- 19%, Gen X- 10%, Boomers- 8%

None: Gen Z- 11%, Millennials- 1%, Gen X- 3%, Boomers- 29%

Preferred type of leisure travel experience

Connections (Spending time with loved ones): Gen Z- 74%, Millennials- 81%, Gen X- 78%, Boomers- 80%

Adventure (Exploring, meeting new people, trying new things): Gen Z- 76%, Millennials- 81%, Gen X- 69%, Boomers- 66%

Relaxation (unwind, de-stress, sleep in): Gen Z- 68%, Millennials- 82%, Gen X- 74%, Boomers- 70%

Traditional (site-seeing): Gen Z- 65%, Millennials- 78%, Gen X- 81%, Boomers- 81%

Living like a local (unique experiences such as one-of-a-kind events, restaurants, etc.): Gen Z- 62%, Millennials-71%, Gen X- 20%, Boomers- 66%

Most common reason for leisure travel

Getaway (leisure trip or vacation): Gen Z- 40%, Millennials-47%, Gen X- 61%, Boomers- 59%

Friend or family-related visits: Gen Z- 44%, Millennials-32%, Gen X- 31%, Boomers- 39%

Holiday (Republic Day, Christmas): Gen Z- 38%, Millennials-40%, Gen X- 25%, Boomers- 12%

Cultural (exploring a new area): Gen Z- 25%, Millennials- 34%, Gen X- 35%, Boomers- 35%

Pilgrimage or religious travel: Gen Z- 16%, Millennials-14%, Gen X- 23%, Boomers- 31%

While overall 36% Indians travelled alone last year, a staggering 71% of millennials travelled alone. Boomers and Gen X split their travel time evenly between travelling with others and alone.[Gen Z- 62%, Millennials- 71%, Gen X- 47%, Boomers- 50% ]

Company on leisure trip (usually or always)

Spouse: Gen Z- 14%, Millennials- 60%, Gen X- 73%, Boomers- 84%, Total – 53%

Family Members: Gen Z- 50%, Millennials- 52%, Gen X- 36%, Boomers- 29%, Total – 47%

Child(ren): Gen Z- 12%, Millennials- 51%, Gen X- 68%, Boomers- 51%, Total – 44%

Significant other: Gen Z- 18%, Millennials- 43%, Gen X- 38%, Boomers- 45%, Total – 36%

Search and Booking Travel

84% Indian travelers think it is helpful to be able to book all travel and hotel accommodations on one website. Generational Preference: Gen Z- 77%, Millennials- 85%, Gen X- 86%, Boomers- 89%

Preferred way to book leisure travel and accommodations

Online travel agency website: Gen Z- 50%, Millennials- 59%, Gen X- 45%, Boomers- 59%

Visit websites separately: Gen Z- 23%, Millennials- 16%, Gen X- 14%, Boomers- 20%

Talk to or work with a travel agent: Gen Z- 16%, Millennials- 12%, Gen X- 26%, Boomers- 13%

Factors to absolutely choose an online travel agency website over an individual website when booking transportation and/or accommodations for a leisure trip:

Best price available/guaranteed: Gen Z- 28%, Millennials- 36%, Gen X- 42%, Boomers- 53%

Excellent customer service: Gen Z- 23%, Millennials- 29%, Gen X- 29%, Boomers- 28%

Free cancellation on hotels: Gen Z- 23%, Millennials- 17%, Gen X- 24%, Boomers- 18%

Cash back offers: Gen Z- 24%, Millennials- 18%, Gen X- 20%, Boomers- 13%

Discount coupons on hotels: Gen Z- 21%, Millennials- 14%, Gen X- 15%, Boomers- 10%

Primary motivating factors when selecting the details of a leisure trip:

Best Deal (By Total): Airline Flight: 60%, Hotel: 60%, Rental Car: 54%, Restaurants or bars: 39%, Sightseeing or activity: 29%, Cruise: 22%

Best Experience (By Total): Sightseeing or activity: 61%, Restaurants or bars: 39%, Cruise: 32%, Hotel: 32%, Rental car: 24%, Airline Flight: 22%

Online Travel Booking Influences

Important features for booking accommodations for a leisure trip on an online travel website are Clear Pricing: 86%, Easily accessible information: 85%, Online Reviews: 82%, Online Ratings: 81%, Website easy to navigate: 78%

Top conditions that would absolutely prevent you from booking a hotel online

Lack of information about the hotel, rooms, or amenities: Gen Z- 40%, Millennials- 37%, Gen X- 44%, Boomers- 47%

Multiple poor online reviews: Gen Z- 39%, Millennials- 36%, Gen X- 37%, Boomers- 42%

Pricing that is notably different than similar hotels in the area: Gen Z- 26%, Millennials- 33%, Gen X- 35%, Boomers- 36%

Not enough or poor quality online photos of the hotel, rooms, or amenities: Gen Z- 27%, Millennials- 20%, Gen X- 25%, Boomers- 21%

If it takes too long to complete the online booking process: Gen Z- 16%, Millennials- 25%, Gen X- 12%, Boomers- 19%

Good hotel reviews are an absolute necessity, nearly 1/3 of all travellers say that a hotel must have good reviews in order for them to stay there. The other conditions include:

Good Hotel Reviews: Gen Z- 24%, Millennials- 30%, Gen X- 40%, Boomers- 31%

Restaurants with good reviews: Gen Z- 22%, Millennials- 18%, Gen X- 17%, Boomers- 20%

Room Service: Gen Z- 21%, Millennials- 18%, Gen X- 13%, Boomers- 16%

Wi-Fi: Gen Z- 15%, Millennials- 10%, Gen X- 12%, Boomers- 6%

What would you do to go on a trip?

61% of Gen Z would get a part-time job to save money to go on a leisure trip

42% of Gen Z would stay off the Internet for a week in order to go on a trip

52% of Millennials would take on an odd job or freelance work to go on a leisure trip

48% of Millennials have postponed a breakup with a significant other in order to still go on a planned trip

Social media plays a huge part in Gen z and Millennial travel decisions

66% of Millennials have posted a potential travel trip on social media to get the opinion of friends and family before booking a trip.

62% of Gen Z have chosen a destination, flight, hotel, or car rental because they saw it on social media

47% of Gen Z have chosen a hotel room or leisure trip destination so they could get a positive response on social media.