Skift Take
Emerging destinations and changes in travel styles are fueling a need for human interaction in the travel planning process among younger generations. Companies would be wise not to neglect the human element instead of betting the bank on booking and personalization technology alone.
A comprehensive survey of travelers found that it's baby boomers — not millennials — who are more likely to bypass travel advisors in favor of going online to book trips.
Travelport Global Digital Traveler Research 2019, which mapped travel preferences according to age groups, turned a common assumption on its head, finding that younger travelers are more likely to consult with travel advisors and tour operators for assistance in booking.
Human Touch
While that might be a surprise to many observers, some travel advisors say they have been seeing this trend over the past few years.
“What the younger generations are saying is they absolutely want human touch at the right time in the process,” said Simon Ferguson, president and managing director of Travelport Americas. “That’s the key thing.”
The Travelport survey, which was released in November, found that 50 percent of millennials or Gen Y (those born from 1981 to 1996) and 25 percent of Gen Z (those born from 1997 to 2012) nearly always turn to travel professionals for recommendations, either travel agents or tour operators.
On the flip side, only 20 percent of Gen X travelers (1965–
