Generation Hashtag - Thematic Research

Generation Hashtag - Thematic Research

Summary

Generation Hashtag is a major consumer demographic. Over the next 10 years, as more of this cohort join the workforce, their spending habits are anticipated to transform the nature of the travel and tourism industry. As Generation Hashtags’ share of the wallet increases, the generation will play a crucial role in tourism’s growth trajectory, both domestically and internationally. As this generation’s function is expected to be particularly significant, players within the travel industry cannot afford to ignore the Hashtag generation of travelers. Meanwhile, their attitudes and behaviors are expected to play an important role in changing the strategy of organizations across the travel and tourism industry. The leading players in travel and tourism are those which have embraced digitalization and focused on developing a robust online presence. To differentiate and stay ahead of the competition, the true leaders are those which have recognized the importance of ESG principles, social media, and personalization and invested in technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and travel apps. The most innovative and pioneering companies will have a workforce with a diverse and distinct set of skills to stay ahead among Generation Hashtag.

This thematic research report takes an in-depth look at Generation Hashtag. Firstly, the players section identifies some of the leading companies in Generation Hashtag and categorizes their position in the value chain. After a thematic briefing which outlines Generation Hashtag within travel and tourism, a trends section is then provided which describes both industry and consumer trends. An industry analysis is then provided which delves into market size and geographical analysis, globally and for the world’s largest travel markets. In addition, use cases of the leading companies within the Generation Hashtag theme are described and analyzed. After a timeline which tells the story of the development of Generation Hashtag in tourism and beyond, a value chain analysis is provided which looks at key industry leaders and laggards. Finally, the leading companies in the Generation Hashtag theme are outlined, along with their competitive position and sector scorecards are delivered, showing how the different companies in each tourism sector compare in the theme of Generation Hashtag, “Generation Hashtag describes a demographic of people born between 1991 and 2005 (aged between 16 and 31, at the time of writing). This unique group covers younger members of the millennial group, as well as older members of Generation Z. They are reshaping how travel works by focusing on experiences and culture, solo travel, planning their own itineraries, ignoring cheap stock content, and drawing their decisions and influence from social media or user-generated content. What is more, all of these new travel trends emerge from smartphone usage, from research to booking. These travelers require higher levels of personalization, authentic messaging, and an abundance of digital touchpoints to streamline their user journey.”

Key Highlights

• Generation Hashtag describes a demographic of people born between 1991 and 2005 (aged between 16 and 31, at the time of writing). This unique group covers younger members of the millennial group, as well as older members of Generation Z. They are reshaping how travel works by focusing on experiences and culture, solo travel, planning their own itineraries, ignoring cheap stock content, and drawing their decisions and influence from social media or user-generated content. What is more, all of these new travel trends emerge from smartphone usage, from research to booking. These travelers require higher levels of personalization, authentic messaging, and an abundance of digital touchpoints to streamline their user journey.
• Generation Hashtag uses social media before, during, and after a trip, making it a key component throughout the travel journey. It is increasingly important that destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and travel companies harness this tool as a result. ‘Instagrammable’ travel trends now largely influence the perception of a destination and the inspiration of a tourist pre-trip. The photo-sharing-based app has rapidly developed from being simply a platform to share photos of a vacation to peers; now DMOs, tour operators, airlines, travel agents, and companies have embraced Instagram, acknowledging that it is a key factor within the booking process among Generation Hashtag.
• In 2021, those aged between 15 and 34 accounted for 30.7% of the global population, equivalent to approximately 2.6 billion people. Due to the generation’s growing impact on society and increasing purchasing power, the cohort could be an excellent primary market for many destinations. However, the group is far from being homogenous, with differences being exacerbated by factors such as age, location, and income. Destination marketers and tourism players must understand the nuances of this generational group and develop strategies that help them to stand out to this cohort.

• This report provides an overview of Generation Hashtag in travel and tourism.
• It identifies the need for travel players to engage with Generation Hashtag travelers and succeed in a highly fragmented and saturated marketplace.
• This report provides a detailed industry analysis of within the theme of Generation Hashtag, discussing how travel players are interacting with this generation of travelers across the travel and tourism value chain.
• We highlight travel and tourism companies that are leading in the Generation Hashtag theme, such as Ryanair, eDreams ODIEGO, Trip.com Group, Expedia Group, Airbnb, Hilton, Booking Holdings, and easyJet.

• Understand the impact of Generation Hashtag on the tourism industry, using use cases to help you understand how you can adapt and understand this theme.
• Assess the strategies that companies are adopting to succeed with Generation Hashtag travelers.
• Discover companies that are leading in the space.
• To view real-world trends linked to the Generation Hashtag theme across the travel & tourism space.
• GlobalData’s thematic research ecosystem is a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework for tracking all themes across all companies in all sectors. It has a proven track record of identifying the important themes early, enabling companies to make the right investments ahead of the competition, and secure that all-important competitive advantage.