A youth survey from 18s to 35s-focused Contiki Tours claims a majority of the travel company’s market want to travel in 2021.
More than 1,200 youths participated in Contiki’s ‘Voice of a Generation’ survey, which revealed 63 per cent of millennials and Gen Z surveyed want to travel this year.
It comes as international travel, a mode of tour operation favoured by The Travel Corporation-owned Contiki Tours, continues to realistically be off the cards amid the COVID-19 pandemic for Australians, required to receive exemptions for travel outside of the nation, and to quarantine upon their return to protect the nation from the virus.
Despite this, however, the findings of the survey show 58 per cent of those surveyed would travel right now even if it meant having to pay for quarantine when they return home, and 71 per cent would take the COVID-19 vaccine (a “no brainer”) just to use their passport and hop on a plane again.
It is unclear which vaccine the survey refers to, given Australia has entered into multiple agreements for vaccines, including the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which has received provisional approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Others are yet to receive approval.
The biggest barrier for the youth market to travelling, however, is risk of cancellation of travel bookings. They are most incentivised if they can book with confidence, have booking flexibility (74 per cent) and a money back guarantee (86 per cent), more so than discounts.
Dreaming of faraway places, Europe tops the list with 41 per cent eager to explore, followed by Asia at 11 per cent and Africa a close third.
Most surveyed are hoping for travel this summer, with 34 per cent planning to travel between May through to September, followed by 25 per cent having a “plan to travel but not sure when”.
For a generation that’s born into the digital age, they would still happily spend a week or so without tech to travel again and reconnect with people (40 per cent).
Switching phones out with unique experiences such as safaris and stargazing tops the list at 87 per cent, over-indexing on desired travel experiences followed by experiencing new cultures and trying new food (66 per cent), exploring the great outdoors (62 per cent), having adventures (56 per cent), and immersing themselves in wellness activities (46 per cent).
Of those millennials and Gen Z surveyed, 39 per cent are missing discovering new destinations and experiencing something for the first time (21 per cent).
Domestic travel is still at an all-time high with 77 per cent surveyed looking to explore their home this year. Around 25 per cent are considering a gap year or sabbatical to make up for lost time.
With the luxury of nigh on-demand flights off the cards currently, however, 48 per cent of those surveyed say they appreciate travel more, while 20 per cent have promised themselves to make more trips, more often, followed by a need to travel sustainably.
