Although it is clear that traveling has greatly changed over the last decade, some findings about the industry are still rather surprising. A new study revealed that young people have become one of the most active travelers today. In fact, the youth now spends much more money and time abroad than in the recent past.
According to a report by the World Youth Student Education Travel Confederation, young people have become a key economic force in the travel industry. The study was based on over 34,000 young travelers from nearly 140 countries. According to it, last year youngsters have spent about $217 billion on travels. In comparison, the total amount of global tourism spending in 2012 was estimated at $1.088 trillion. The report states that this is this is great rise and it took place only in matter of few years. Moreover, the research adds that young travelers make up 20% of the global tourism. This is a great change compared to about 10 years ago.
However, this is not the only discovery made by the study. The report also informed that today young people travel less for leisure. In 2007 about 75% of the youth travelled for pleasure. Today, the percentage has dropped to barely 47%. Instead, young people are searching for something more practical when they go abroad. They now prefer to be exposed to new cultures, nationalities and environments. In addition, they see travelling as a way to improve their employability. All of that has actually broadened the travel industry.
Most young travelers want to learn a new language (22%). Impressive is also the number of youngsters who take a trip in hopes to gain more work experience (15%). In addition, a big part of the youth today goes abroad to study (15%).
But why have young people abandoned leisure travelling? According to the report, this is due to the global economic hardships which we witness today. In addition, unemployment rate among the young has rapidly increased.
Despite that, the youth is spending more than ever before when travelling. For just six years, student spending alone has jumped with the astounding 40%. Also, they are spending more time abroad – an average of 60+ days.
However, they have replaced hotels with hostels as their top accommodation choice. That is because they offer more services and choice to youngsters. Also, young travelers now do their best to stay away from big cities. Instead, they head to more remote spots.
