GenZ, the future flag bearers to our modern world. You might feel how this generation who merely scrolls through Instagram reels makes a difference. Well, that’s just a negative connotation being given to GenZs. Being fortunate to have received the power of the internet in its advanced stages, they’ve become socially aware and educated about things surrounding them. With more GenZs traveling, we need to be on par with their understanding, their wants and make small changes in the manner we serve. Only then can we survive in the travel industry. In this regard, GenZ is changing the future of travel, and to find out how? Keep reading our article.
Traveling Is More Than Just Reaching A Destination
Traveling is more than just getting from point A to point B for members of GenZ. While they’re on vacation/workation, being confined within the limits of their room is not an option. They need to experience the destination, fall in love with it, and make it worth each and every penny. Comfort is secondary as they’re looking for unique experiences worth sharing on social media. Very much unlike the older generation’s notion of a vacation – visiting exotic destinations that don’t remind them of home.
Adventure activities are the real trend among GenZs. Reports show that approximately 3/4th of the GenZ population seeks the thrill in adventure sports such as paragliding, bungee jumping, or trekking on challenging terrain. The truth is these activities require finance. Since many GenZs are still students, you may feel that the financial factor might be a discouragement from indulging in such expeditions. But, in reality, GenZs are willing to go above and beyond financial constraints either by saving up their pocket money or doing part-time jobs. According to a survey, 58% of Indians (particularly GenZs) are willing to spend on experiences over things. Another astonishing find is that 65% of them plan on increasing their budget, just to have more thrilling experiences. On the other hand, wildlife and hiking experiences have seen an increase too.
To cater to these GenZ demands, many hostels have begun to offer experience packages. It may be in the form of intercity trips, treks, and other adventure activities. Here at goSTOPS, our goEXPERIENCES program does just that. It offers a ton of activities for our guests to have a more enriching holiday.
Practicing Sustainability
If there’s one quality you need to know about GenZ, it is that they care profusely for the environment. So much so, that products have been boycotted if they aren’t following any environmental regulations. Kumi Naidoo, human rights and environmental activist, rightly refers to GenZ as the“Greta Generation” which is reflected in their travel habits as well. Additionally, GenZ is changing the future of travel to shape the industry to be sustainable too.
Where accommodation is concerned, GenZs research hostels that follow sustainable practices and give back to the environment. Any hostel that reduces its carbon footprint on the environment ranks higher in the eyes of GenZs. The findings by Booking.com’s Destination Gen Z project will surely astonish you! They found out that around 56% of GenZers prefer living in eco-friendly accommodations. If traveling to well-known places requires more fuel, 52% of GenZers would prefer visiting lesser-known destinations.
This is probably why hostels should consider shifting to more eco-friendly ways such as adopting the solar panel system for hot water, automatic lights that switch off when no presence is detected and eliminating plastic bottled water too. If not, it’s high time you need to implement a kind of system to reduce your carbon footprint on the environment.
The Cashless Mode Of Payment: Technology At Its Finest
GenZs and technology share a symbiotic relationship far longer than any generation so far. As a result, companies continuously develop trendy apps keeping them as their primary focus. These apps not only help in eliminating dilemmas but also make our lives a little more convenient. For instance, let’s take digital payments. GenZs in India has been gravitating towards electronic-wallet services, contactless payments, and peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps since they’re more efficient and safer. Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal are some of the widely used services among GenZs in India. So, if your hostel hasn’t explored the realm of cashless payments,, this is the right time to do so. Additionally, in an era when the world is slowly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, cashless transactions should be mandatory.
Actively Looking At Planning Their Travels
GenZs are the most active planners out there; even more than millennials! Around 43% of GenZers plan their own trips, whereas 48% of the others would rather split the planning with someone else. Even where leisure trips are concerned, GenZs have had more 1-3 trips than millennials. This shows the amount of overflowing passion for travel by GenZ. You better be ready for them!
We also have to break the notion that GenZ travelers are unable to finance their own travels due to obvious reasons. The statistics prove that just 9% of GenZ travelers have someone else (parents, or relatives) pay for their travels. But what’s interesting is that an astonishing 46% of them have financed their travels with their own money! This showcases that the GenZ generation truly enjoy saving up for travel. This is a huge way in which GenZ is changing the future of travel as they are setting the trend that travel is worth spending on.
Conclusion
Wrapping up everything, we’ve seen how GenZ is changing the future of travel and shaping new trends as they venture into traveling. We, as owners and co-owners of our hostels, need to vigilantly follow the flow of ever-changing trends by this group, especially if they are your target audience. We need to be adaptable and learn to evolve. The points we’ve mentioned in our article are just some patterns we’ve recognized over the past years. 10 years from now, we don’t know how things are going to change. So, stay sharp, adapt, evolve, and grow.
Authored by Pankaj Parwanda, goSTOPS co-founder
