Millennial Travelers Research Articles

Innovative Marketing Strategies for Attracting Millennial and Gen Z Travelers

Purpose: The general objective of the study was to explore the innovative marketing strategies for attracting Millennial and Gen Z travelers. Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the innovative marketing strategies for attracting Millennial and Gen Z travelers. Preliminary empirical review revealed the importance of leveraging technology, personalization, social media, and sustainability to engage these influential demographics. It was found that immersive technologies like VR and AR, personalized recommendations through AI, and sustainable practices significantly enhanced customer engagement and loyalty. Examples such as Marriott’s VR tours and Airbnb’s personalized itineraries demonstrated the effectiveness of these approaches. The study concluded that understanding and adapting to the unique preferences and values of Millennials and Gen Z were crucial for maintaining relevance and achieving growth in the travel industry. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Critical Race Theory, Social Disorganization Theory and Labeling theory may be used to anchor future studies on innovative marketing strategies for attracting Millennial and Gen Z travelers. The study highlighted the importance of integrating immersive technologies like VR and AR, utilizing advanced data analytics and AI for personalization, and engaging with social media and influencers. It recommended that travel brands invest in these areas to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, it advocated for policy measures to support sustainable tourism and the involvement of local communities in tourism planning. The study contributed to theoretical advancements by expanding the understanding of consumer engagement and provided practical and policy recommendations to align with the values and preferences of these influential demographics. Keywords: Innovative Marketing Strategies, Millennial Travelers, Gen Z Travelers, Consumer Engagement, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR)

Influence of Media Credibility and Information Quality on Visiting Interest: An Analysis of the @WonderfulIndonesia Instagram Account on Millennial Travelers

Tourism in Indonesia holds significant potential, with domestic tourism being a primary focus for the government. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia has developed the "Wonderful Indonesia" branding, utilizing the @WonderfulIndonesia Instagram account to promote domestic tourism. This study examines the impact of media credibility and information quality on millennials' interest in visiting domestic tourist destinations, using the @WonderfulIndonesia account as a case study. Utilizing the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) theory, the research emphasizes the importance of persuasive message delivery through digital platforms. Data were collected from a survey of 30 respondents and analyzed using validity, reliability, and multiple regression tests with SPSS 26. Results indicate that media credibility and information quality account for 31.6% of the variance in visiting interest, demonstrating a significant positive relationship. However, 69.4% of the variance is influenced by other factors, suggesting the need for further research into variables such as media exposure and content attractiveness.

Managing tourism and hospitality industry during pandemic: analysis of challenges and strategies for survival

PurposeThis study aims to explore the challenges faced by the tourism and hospitality industry following the COVID-19 pandemic and to propose effective strategies for recovery and resilience of this sector.Design/methodology/approachThe study analysed the challenges encountered by the tourism and hospitality industry post-pandemic and identified key strategies for overcoming these challenges. The study utilised the modified Delphi method to finalise the challenges and employed the Best-Worst Method (BWM) to rank these challenges. Additionally, solution strategies are ranked using the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) method.FindingsThe study identified significant challenges faced by the tourism and hospitality industry, highlighting the lack of health and hygiene facilities as the foremost concern, followed by increased operational costs. Moreover, it revealed that attracting millennial travellers emerged as the top priority strategy to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on this industry.Originality/valueThis research contributes to understanding the challenges faced by the tourism and hospitality industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It offers valuable insights into practical strategies for recovery. The findings provide beneficial recommendations for policymakers aiming to revive and support these industries.

“The impact of influencer marketing on destination choice-A quantitative study among Brazilian and German millennials."

The decision-making process of choosing a travel destination it is a very complex topic. Why individuals travel and what influences an individual’s travelling intentions in general has been studied by different scholars. This study examines the differences in the effect of influencer marketing on cross-national consumption destination choices by focusing on the impact of influencer marketing on travel destination choices by German and Brazilian millennials. Influencer marketing is a relatively new topic and its main impact is still under evaluated. Tourist behavior theories have been the focus of much research in many tourism studies, but how German and Brazilian millennial travelers’ intentions are shaped by influencer marketing has not been investigated. By reviewing academic sources, this master paper aims to analyze the efficacy of the TPB for predicting German and Brazilian millennial's intention when choosing a travel destination. Data were collected from Brazil and Germany for a two-week time frame starting in the beginning of June. 231 German, Brazilian and international tourists participated in the survey. In general, the main results have been aligned with previous literature studies which have supported the application of the TPB model. The three main elements, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control were observed to have made an effect. In addition, the findings indicated that internal and external factors are considered by German and Brazilian millennials when choosing a travel destination. Moreover, main implications, recommendations and suggestions for future studies have been provided in the last chapter of this study.

Millennial travel trends: Responses to climate change

The travel and tourism industry had been thriving prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to the millennial travelers. This paper aims to explore the responses of millennial travelers to climate change in terms of values, attitudes, and behaviors. In order to address the aim, this paper utilizes conceptual study based on past research regarding youth tourism and pro-environmental perspectives of Generation Y. Firstly, the paper identifies which values and beliefs are existent among the millennials, how they vary from region to region and the ways of these values are shaped. Secondly, it identifies the attitudes and viewpoints of the millennial travelers in relation to carbon mitigation, environmental conservation and restoration, and responsible tourism. Finally, it identifies the behaviors and actions of the millennial travelers in response to climate change. The outcomes of this paper might have a considerable academic contribution to determining the influence of different value categories (e.g., altruistic, biospheric, and egoistic) on the conscious and subconscious climate actions of the millennial travelers. This research may provide an avenue for possible policy implications to promote sustainable tourism practices among millennials in developed and developing nations.

Are millennial travelers ready to switch to branded hostels? Empirical investigation using push-pull-mooring model

ABSTRACT Branded hostel, an innovative format, is emerging as a challenger to traditional hotels. This study empirically investigates the switching intentions of millennials to branded hostels using the push-pull-mooring model. The survey data collected from 411 respondents were analyzed using partial least square–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings show that hotel-related push effects (satiation, perceived inconvenience and low perceived value) and hostel-related pull effects (networking opportunity, self-discovery, authentic experience and hedonic motivation) emerged as significant determinants of switching intention. Moreover mooring factors, which include perceived risk, subjective norms and habit, have a significant effect in predicting switching intentions. The findings of this study carry central importance for hoteliers as well as the branded hostel chain managers.

Motivasi Wisatawan Millenial Memilih Kuliner Lokal Sebagai Daya Tarik Wisata Di Ubud Kabupaten Gianyar Bali

Ubud as the center of tourism activities in Gianyar district, you can easily find various types of tourist attractions and tourism supporting facilities. one of them is a restaurant. Ubud was named one of the best cities in Asia by Conde Nast Traveler in 2013, at that time Ubud achieved the highest score based on indicators of atmosphere, art and culture, lodging, restaurants, sites, people's friendliness, and shopping facilities. One of the components that support Ubud in winning the award is the restaurant criteria. Based on the study above, the authors are interested in studying the motivation and determinants of millennial tourist motivation for local culinary tours in Ubud. Data collection used a questionnaire with a scale of 5. The number of samples was determined by quota sampling with predetermined respondents being searched accidently. Data analysis technique using confirmatory factor analysis. Based on the results of the study it was concluded that the motivation of millennial tourists in choosing local culinary as an attraction in Ubud is mostly driven by emotional motivation where purchases made by consumers are based on feelings and pleasures that can be captured by the five senses, and if this is done it will increase status their social. This is reflected in the answers of respondents who feel proud when they enjoy the culinary dishes offered in Ubud and feel happy with these culinary dishes. The motivating factors that determine millennial in choosing local culinary as a tourist attraction in Ubud, Gianyar Regency are factor 1 is the convenience and practicality factor, factor 2 is service, factor 3 is product and factor 4 is location and price. The four factors that determine millennial motivation in choosing local culinary offerings in Ubud, Gianyar Regency, have an influence of 65.64%.
 Keywords: Local Culinary, Motivation, Restaurants, Culinary Tourism, Millennial Travelers

Tren Solo Traveler Dalam Minat Berwisata Di Era New Normal: Perspektif Generasi Milenial

The easing of the pandemic conditions brought an opportunity for the tourism industry to start to rise from adversity. Social restrictions during the pandemic are slowly shifting to patterns of life in the new normal era. Behavior in the social order began to experience new adaptations, as well as in terms of travel. Previously, tourists tended to be in groups or in groups when carrying out travel activities, which changed with this new normal era. Solo traveler is a new trend in the world of tourism for reasons of safety and health. A self-contained experience with nature-based attractions that mostly resonate with millennial travelers. A solo traveler is a traveler who travels alone, even though the trip will establish new relationships with other people. Generation Y, also known as the millennial generation, is an actor in solo travelers where this generation has unique characteristics in lifestyle, attitudes, and a tendency to be open to all new sources of information. The emergence of the millennial generation is marked by the process of globalization that gave birth to gadgets. The formulation of the research problem is what is the trend of solo travelers from the perspective of the millennial generation and how is their interest in traveling in the new normal era. The purpose of this research is to explore the trends and interests of solo travelers from the perspective of the millennial generation in traveling on its period. Key informants in this study were internal informants from 3 managers from the selected tourism industry, as well as external informants, namely 15 solo travelers from the millennial generation aged 20-30 years as eligible sources who have roles as students, early jobbers or young parents to provide information. information about interest in traveling in the new normal era from each tourist attraction. The data analysis technique used in this research is qualitative data analysis which is carried out interactively through the process of data reduction, data display, and verification. The results show that the tourist interest of solo travelers from the millennial generation is a potential niche for tourism managers and developers, especially in the new normal era which focuses on the revival of tourism

Travel: A Conceptual Framework in Travel Protection Plan Subscription Behaviour among Millennials

Due to evolving travel trends, safety and security in tourism have become a huge challenge for Malaysians. A series of accidents can drag travellers down to suffer from financial loss; thus, this demands essential coverage for protection during the trip. Despite that, the percentage of Malaysian travellers that subscribe to the Travel Protection Plan (TPP) remains low due to uninsured behaviour caused by a lack of awareness and knowledge, especially among millennials. This paper examines the literature that determines the grounded theories to identify factors that will engage more subscribers towards TPP through content analysis of past consumer behaviour studies. The systematic literature review used in the study shows that past literature has tapped into marketing, performance, sales, product, medical and law implementation areas but scarcely on behaviour areas. The authors proposed that actual behaviour among Millennial travellers can be understood using Decomposed Theory of Behaviour (DTPB) and Risk Perception Theory (RPT), which comprise two factors that influence the subscription behaviour, namely implicit and explicit attitude in TPP subscription. Finally, the article outlined the framework that would construct key strategies from the insight of travellers’ and practitioners' interviews in line with the proposed theories to understand the actual behaviour of subscription among Millennial travellers. The paper will be useful to researchers, market players and travellers to understand the importance of a Travel Protection Plan subscription before embarking on their journey.

Impact of user-generated travel posts on travel decisions: A comparative study on Weibo and Xiaohongshu

With the growing popularity and versatility of mobile applications, this study examined consumers' usage of multi-functional social media content apps and the influence of user-generated travel posts on their travel decision-making. Using the case of Chinese millennial travelers and Weibo and Xiaohongshu as representative apps, semi-structured interviews and surveys were conducted. Results showed that while respondents used Weibo more often in daily life, Xiaohongshu was more likely to influence their destination selection. Key attributes of travel posts and preferences of different user groups were identified. The relative importance of each attribute in guiding dining/accommodation/transportation/shopping/attraction decisions was examined. The most active app users placed lower importance on the number of images and higher importance on length of text and language style.

Analysis of the Urban Millennial Travelers’ Intention

ABSTRACT
 Purpose: This study aims to identify the main factors that influence the travel intention of urban millennial travelers and why travel intentions are essential to be studied by stakeholders.
 Research methods: This research uses a qualitative descriptive approach, which implications travel intention from the point of view of urban millennial travelers to the main factors that affect travel intention. Travel Intention became a unit of analysis and the main focus of this research. Purposive sampling techniques were used to establish the sample number of this study, which is 100 respondents.
 Results and discussion: The results showed that the identification of travel intention popular among urban millennial travelers in Jakarta four important factors significantly affect the quality of the place that is the leading destination of urban people in Jakarta. The factors are, self-conformity, attitude, destination image, and perceived quality.
 Implication: The attitude became a reasonably popular factor that the respondents chose. 
 
 Keywords: travel intention, millennials urban traveler, TCL model.

LUXURY HOSPITALITY SERVICE ADOPTION AMONGST INDIAN MILLENNIAL: AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH

Understanding the Indian millennial travelers is vital in providing insights into their behavior while presenting additional challenges to successfully targeting different demographic cohorts for luxury products and services. The present study investigates the factors that define the value perceptions and attitude of Millennials towards luxury service consumption in India. The findings revealed social value as an important factor that influences the attitude of millennial consumers towards purchasing luxury tourism services. Along with providing a theoretical model for behavior, the study provides insights into measuring tourist value preferences by utilizing empirical data within luxury tourism contexts and suggests the tourism and hospitality business practitioners to make innovations in product, service management, and marketing to draw the attention of such a potential segment. Moreover, this study augments the existing knowledge of luxury value and travel patterns of emerging and potential consumers while developing a theoretical model to validate and analyze the luxury service consumption amongst them.

Why Chinese travelers use WeChat to make hotel choice decisions: A uses and gratifications theory perspective

ABSTRACT WeChat, a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app, is an emerging social media platform that has been integrated into the daily lives of Chinese people, including travel. However, despite the growing proliferation of WeChat, surprisingly, little attention has been paid to the gratifications obtained by Chinese travelers when using WeChat in travel-related decision-making. Adopting the well-grounded Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT), this exploratory research paper aims to address this void in prior literature and identify why and how Chinese millennial travelers use WeChat to make hotel choice decisions. Findings stemmed from the semi-structured interviews using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling approaches with eighteen WeChat users reveals that hotel choice decisions through WeChat are influenced by various social, process, and content gratifications. As indicated in our findings, hotels in China should be aware of gratifications obtained by travelers in stimulating them to utilize WeChat in the hotel selection process. Further, our study contributes to extant UGT literature by emphasizing that it has specific relevance and should be given more prominence within tourism, hospitality, and social media literature.

Halal Tourism Marketing Strategy Based on Delta Model to Increase Millennial Tourist Interest in Lombok Island

This study is intended to analyze and know the significance of the impact of delta strategy halal tourism marketing model on the increasing interest of millennial tourists on the island of Lombok. The population of this explanatory research type is millennial tourists who enjoy halal tourism packages on the island of Lombok which is not known for sure. In data collection, this study uses survey method by determining the sample using nonprobability sampling, which is then limited by various criteria of respondents (purposive sampling). The questionnaire was distributed online and obtained by 182 respondents who participated in the study. The collected data is processed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) test with the help of AMOS 20.0 program. Based on the results of data processing using SEM, it was found that: (1) Best Product Strategy-Delta Model has a positive and significant effect on the interests of millennial tourists on the island of Lombok; (2) Total Customer Solutions-Delta Model positively and significantly affects the interest of millennial travelers in Lombok Island; and (3) System Lock-In-Delta Model positively and significantly affects the interest of millennial tourists on the island of Lombok

Egyptian Millennial Travellers' Willingness to Adopt and Use Travel Chatbots: An Exploratory Study

Purpose – This research study focuses on investigating travel chatbots adoption among Egyptian millennial travellers. The study thus attempts to find out Egyptian millennial travellers' motives for using travel chatbots, their perceptions of risks, and future use intention. Design/Methodology/Approach – An online questionnaire was developed to assess motives for using travel chatbots, perceived risks, and use intention based on several previous qualitative research studies. The survey was directed to Egyptian millennial travellers (N=241) and distributed via Facebook and WhatsApp. Findings – The two strongest motivations for adopting travel chatbots among respondents were productivity followed by curiosity. Though chatbot users did not perceive travel chatbots as risky, non-users perceived them as risky in terms of privacy and global AI-related risks. Nevertheless, both chatbot users and non-users exhibited a positive attitude towards future use intention. Practical implication – The results of this study provide travel and tourism businesses in Egypt with an understanding of millennial travellers' motives and behavioural intention to adopt new technologies such as travel chatbots. Such understanding would help businesses design and deliver quality online tourism experiences to their customers. Originality/Value – There is quite a sufficient number of studies focusing on chatbots and AI-powered conversational agents, however, research on the motives for using travel chatbots is still scarce. No previous studies discussing travel chatbots adoption among Millennials were conducted in Egypt. Thus, the study contributes to academia as it adds to the scarce research on Egyptian Millennials' travel technology use behaviour.

CEE Millennial Travellers’ Attitude towards Security Measures Applied in Tourism Infrastructure

The aim of the paper is to assess the level of Millennial travellers’ from Central and Eastern Europe safety estimated by the importance of the security measures implemented in tourism infrastructure (accommodation facilities and tourist attractions) as a way to provide a safer leisure environment. In addition, the paper examines whether tourists’ gender and economic stimulus in the form of reduced travel costs are among the factors which influence the evaluation of the significance of safety measures and the perception of risk. The objective is accomplished through a critical analysis of literature and the survey conducted by the authors among Millennials from Poland, Lithuania and Slovakia. The findings indicate that security measures improve the safety and quality of the tourist experience in respondents from the countries focused on in the survey; however, there are differences in the type of security measures accepted by tourists from individual countries. To have lower travel expenses, they are more willing to accept a lower level of safety during an outbound trip. The research has also revealed that the assessment of security measures varies depending on tourists’ gender.

A comparative analysis of factors influencing millennial travellers’ intentions to use ride-hailing

Ride-hailing services (e.g., Uber, Lyft) have drawn attention as a disruptive innovation in the tourism industry as they provide a new option for transport while on vacation or a business trip. Few studies have examined how travellers perceive the value of this new mode of transportation and modelled their intent to use ride-hailing services. Millennial consumers are known for their early adoption of smart technologies with different supply chains and portable internet devices (e.g., cell phones). This research examines the impact of perceived value on millennial travellers’ intentions to use ride-hailing services in two rapidly changing tourism economies embracing smart phone access to transport services. Primary data were collected with millennials located in urban universities in the US and China. Data were analysed using ordinary least squares estimates. The results revealed that price and relational value positively influenced millennial travellers’ intentions to use ride-hailing services in both samples. These influences remained significant after controlling for previous experiences with mobile technology, perceived safety, and regulations for ride-hailing services. The two millennial samples, however, exhibited different consumer factor influences. While quality and perceived regulations for ride-hailing services predicted millennial travellers’ use intentions in the US sample, previous experience of using mobile technology influenced travellers’ use intentions in the Chinese sample. As companies like Uber and Lyft expand and new providers enter the market, consumer behaviour research on perceived value can inform how business models might differ across countries and services should be tailored for each destination.

The impact of influencer marketing on destination choice: A quantitative study among Brazilian and German millennials.

The decision-making process of choosing a travel destination it is a very complex topic. Why individuals travel and what influences an individual’s travelling intentions in general has been studied by different scholars. This study examines the differences in the effect ofinfluencer marketing on cross-national consumption destination choices by focusing on the impact of influencer marketing on travel destination choices by German and Brazilian millennials. Influencer marketing is a relatively new topic and its main impact is still underevaluated. Tourist behavior theories have been the focus of much research in many tourism studies, but how German and Brazilian millennial travelers’ intentions are shaped by influencer marketing has not been investigated. By reviewing academic sources, this master paper aims to analyze the efficacy of the TPB for predicting German and Brazilian millennial's intention when choosing a travel destination.Data were collected from Brazil and Germany for a two-week time frame starting in the beginning of June. 231 German, Brazilian and international tourists participated in the survey. In general, the main results have been aligned with previous literature studies whichhave supported the application of the TPB model. The three main elements, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control were observed to have made an effect. In addition, the findings indicated that internal and external factors are considered by German and Brazilian millennials when choosing a travel destination. Moreover, main implications, recommendations and suggestions for future studies have been provided in the last chapter of this study.

The Perspective of Millenial Tourists on Halal Tourism and its Reflection to Halal Tourism Development in West Sumatera

As halal tourism demand show significant growth due to increase awareness of muslim tourists on consuming halal products and services during their travels, muslim millennials travelers becomes the most targeted market from destinations in the world, especially as they represent 25% of total tourism visitor arrivals. Therefore, this paper intends to reveal the perception of millennials on halal tourism and after that , the results to be projected in the development strategy of halal tourism in West Sumatera. It is an exploratory descriptive research in which primary data are collected through the distribution of questionnaire to 185 millennials in Jakarta. The results show that faith based needs especially the provision of halal food as well the opportunity to perform salaath and the availability of praying facilities along with water usage friendly washrooms are the most important services on their leisure travels. Muslim friendly accommodation, tourism attraction and shopping are the important facilities required, while the millennials search travel information and share their experience in social media. The most favorite tourism activities in halal tourism are adventure and family based tourism. To be successful in offering its halal tourism to millennials, West Sumatera should create its halal tourism products and services in accordance to the millennials tourists expectation Keywords: halal tourism, muslim millennial travelers requirements, muslim friendly travel.

Moving Millennials out of the too hard basket: Exploring the challenges of attracting Millennial tourists to rural destinations

This paper explores the challenges rural destination marketers encounter when targeting the Millennial segment, which is an increasingly critical cohort for the tourism industry, due to their high-income levels, mobility associated with early life stage, and longevity as a market segment. Underpinned by Generational Theory and guided by an interpretivist approach, thirteen tourism destination marketers in regional Australia were interviewed to gain insight into their experiences and perception of Millennial travellers. The data revealed two distinct sets of characteristics relating to the Millennial target market, and the destination's capabilities, which together contributed to the identification of five marketing challenges rural destination marketers face when attempting to attract Millennials visitors. This research draws focus to a gap between what rural destination marketers perceive Millennials want and what rural destination can offer, which, compounded by challenges communicating with the Millennial segment, results in Millennials being considered a challenging audience for regional tourism destinations to attract.