MILLENNIALS: A NEW TREND FOR THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

The purpose of this paper is how millennials change and influencing the tourism industry and their importance for travel in the world. Having grown up with near-ubiquitous internet access and beginning their professional careers in the wake of a financial crisis, millennials are using technology to make savvy travel-buying decisions, largely based on the perceived authenticity of the experience they are offered. Millennials travel more than any other demographic. On average, they take 35 days of vacation each year, and they're also bucking the trend by increasing their annual travel spend as other generations intend to be more conservative with their cash. Millennial travelers are interested in authenticity, fulfillment and sustainability. That's a message that tour operators, travel agents and the entire travel industry needs to understand. The millennials represent 27 percent of the global population or about 2 billion people.