Generationally Speaking in Tourism
Destination Design Firm Shares Insights and National Trends in New Report
St. Louis-based design firm PGAV Destinations probes the public’s views in Generationally Speaking: How Cultural Shifts Impact Your Destination, its latest industry report.
Conducted in partnership with H2R Market Research, this comprehensive study surveyed 602 people across America to better understand the evolving travel attitudes, preferences, motivators, and behaviors of Generation Z, Trailing Millennials, Leading Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers.
“There is certainly a significant amount of published research on the generation groupings that define our time,” said Mike Konzen, Chair and Principal of PGAV Destinations. “Generations are always changing. We need to help our clients by understanding exactly what these shifts mean to them.”
Generationally Speaking explores the generations’ varying stances on a variety of key issues that affect tourism, including social causes, volunteerism and charity support, and an exploration of self-awareness and cross-generational identity.
The report also explores current trends in the “sharing economy,” and how different cohorts perceive and leverage streaming media services like Netflix, home-sharing services like AirBnB, and ride-sharing services such as Lyft. Younger generations are far more apt to utilize these services, citing a desire to “only pay for what they want” in today’s urban environment, which continues to offer an increasing number of options.
“When we first explored travel motivations four years ago, respondents prioritized reconnecting with friends and family, pleasing the people they cared about, and having fun together as their primary motivators,” explained Jerry Henry, CEO and President of H2R Market Research. “In this recent study however, we see that younger generations now express a top desire to have fun and experience cultures that open their minds.”
The Travel Planning and Motivations chapters continue to explore how different generations plan their trips, what sites they use, and whom they trust for recommendations.
The report includes an in-depth look at differing priorities at the attractions and destinations these generations hold dear, as well as the most popular attraction types among them. ”It’s essential that we not only understand how today’s evolving generations view themselves, but also the rapidly changing world around them,” says Konzen.
Generationally Speaking can be read in full here, and interested readers can subscribe for hard copies of this issue of Destinology, as well as other informative PGAV Destinations’ national research studies here. For additional generational studies, explore Voice of the Visitor: 2017 Outlook on the Attractions Industry, Generation Z: A New Generation’s View on Zoos and Aquariums, and Meet the Millennials.
About PGAV Destinations
PGAV Destinations is a global leader in the planning and design of unique destinations. Now entering its sixth decade, the practice has evolved to become the ideal destination-consulting partner, skilled at developing growth-oriented master plans and translating those plans into successful projects. No other firm offers such an integrated approach to destination planning.
PGAV Destinations’ key clients include industry leaders such as Delaware North Companies, SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, the Biltmore Companies, Bass Pro Shops, Ameristar Casinos, Universal Studios, The Gettysburg Foundation, the Saint Louis Zoo, and many others. Recent assignments include planning and design at many of the world’s “must see” destinations, including the Grand Canyon, Biltmore Estate, Space Shuttle Atlantis, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, the Georgia Aquarium, the Hoover Dam, and SeaWorld Adventure Parks. www.PGAVDestinations.com
