generation Y and new technologies: tourism 2.0

Generation Y is an especially interesting target for the tourism industry. These digital natives (15-30 years old) are the first to adopt new technologies, and they automatically turn to social media and Web 2.0 services to get information, plan their trips, and discuss their experiences.

Always connected, Gen Y’ers interact and share their stories with a variety of online communities. They are extremely mobile and want constant access to their interests and online worlds.

Since Gen Y has a great capacity to influence and relay information, tourism professionals have to improve their analysis of this segment’s behavior in order to better understand its needs and boost their companies’ visibility.

opinion leaders championing 2.0 services and m-tourism

This hyper-connected generation has used social tools and new technologies to transform tourism into a multidimensional experience. Consumers can now:

• plan trips better and find the best deals: 2.0 tourists are plugged in to traveler communities, so they can share tips and deals to better plan trips. They have access to transparent information for finding the best offers via price comparison services.
• get information anytime, anywhere: new smartphone features now enable travelers to use their mobile devices as modems in order to optimize their experience by surfing on their PCs. Using mobile Web networks, tourists can not only book tickets, but also get real-time information about their travel environment, translating into a free and easy travel experience.
• share their experiences: Gen Y travelers share stories and details from their trips using social media and blogs.

social networks: understanding and helping tourists throughout their trips

Social networks are new distribution channels that offer travel companies a wealth of possibilities:

•  improved knowledge of consumers and trends
•  the ability to anticipate performance through detailed feedback and models correlating different social media in order to measure their impact
•  potential revenue through new travel-related products sold on social networks
•  control of online brand image
•  direct contact with consumers to better understand their needs

It can be challenging, however, to understand how to use these tools effectively.

The next post in this series will cover tourism, technology and seniors.  The previous post in this series covered business travelers and new technology.

For more information, download the white paper, "A fully digital tourist’s journey”.

Jérôme

This post was originally published in French here.

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