This document summarizes a workshop on developing low/medium season tourism for seniors and young people in Europe. The workshop focused on how millennials travel differently than previous generations, seeking experiences over possessions, authenticity through local interactions, and driving the sharing economy. Their last-minute and experience-focused travel could help address seasonal challenges for destinations. The case study of Athens, Greece was presented, where authorities worked with local young entrepreneurs and travel experts to develop millennials-focused products and media coverage to combat seasonality and social issues by attracting more youth tourism. The results strengthened local partnerships and international interest in developing youth markets long-term.

1. Workshop on Low/Medium SeasonTourism for Seniors and
Young People in Europe:Youth Session
18 June 2015, Brussels
Peter Jordan
SeniorTourism Analyst,Toposophy

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7. 1. Defining ‘Youth Travel’
2. How do Millennials travel differently?
3. The effect on destinations
4. Seasonality and Millennial travel
behaviour
5. Putting a destination on the map for
Millennials – the case of Athens

8. Defining ‘Youth Travel’

9. An age group
or
A niche market
or
Student travel for the specific purpose of study
or
As a vehicle for international exchange,
peace and understanding
Source:
United Nations World Tourism Organization, 2008: ‘Youth Travel
Matters –
Understanding the Global Phenomenon of Youth Travel’

10. As per UNWTO, 2008:
‘Youth travel includes all independent trips for periods of less

11. ‘Youth’ or ‘Millennials’?
• Millennials: The current young generation, aged
18-34
• Also known as Gen-Y, the ‘Me’ Generation
• Exact age brackets differ by organisation
1970 1980 1990 200 2010 202
Born during this period
Enters teenage years and becomes an
independent consumer, post the year 2000
Gen X &
Baby-
boomers
‘Gen Z’

12. The same, but different
Millennials are defined by the times in which they
grew up: world events, the economy and social
change. Experiences of these differ around the
world.
Real GDP growth forecast 2015
(source: IMF):
Italy: 0.5%
Indonedia: 5.2%

13. The same, but different
Cultural differences can influence travel
expectations and ambitions (travel maturity)
Pacific Asia Travel Association (2014)
The Rise of the Young Asian Traveller

14. The same, but different
SCHOOL LEAVER / APPRENTICE
YOUNG PROFESSIONAL / STUDENT / ‘NEET’
PARENT / MARRIED / SINGLE
• Young people are very diverse. Their needs and
tastes can change rapidly as they grow.
• Search is by product and interest, not age.
• It’s why we need to understand young peoples’
self-expression through consumption, especially
in travel.

15. How do Millennials
travel differently?

16. 1. More connected than any
previous generation
This is the generation that grew up with:
• ‘Internet everywhere’ (3G, Wi-Fi)
• E-Commerce
• Mobile devices
• Social media
• E-travel (reviews, metasearch, last minute
booking, group deals)
• The concept of ‘personal branding’ through
travel

17. 2. Social media rules
• For Millennials, social media is their primary
source of news, information, inspiration and
advice.
• Social media is used throughout Millennials’
journey: when dreaming, planning, booking,
experiencing, and reflecting.
• Where you travel says a lot about you, and
social media magnifies Millennials’ ‘personal
brand’

18. 3. Millennials seek to collect
experiences, rather than ‘things’
• Millennials grew up during the Global Economic
Crisis. House and car ownership are less of a
possibility for this generation.
• Brought up with the Internet and 24-hour news,
this generation is more globally aware and
globally curious.
• Happiness comes from collecting experiences
(eg. Adventures, new friendships), learning new
skills and sharing it all online.

19. 4. Millennials seek authenticity
• Millennials’ seek to satisfy their cultural curiosity
by meeting new people (now possible thanks to
location-based apps, such as Foursquare and
Tinder)
• When travelling they increasingly look to
connect with the local culture, attending events
and taking classes based on language food,
music, fashion and design

20. 5. Millennials are driving the
Sharing Economy
• Due to a combination of all the factors described
in slides 1-4, Millennials are driving the growth of
the Sharing Economy (eg. Airbnb, Homeaway,
Withlocals, Dopios, BlaBlaCar)
• According to VisionCritical, 48% of ‘neo-sharers’
are Millennials, and their future consumption
behavior as business travellers and family
travellers will expand the use of Sharing
Economy services even more.

21. Seasonality and Millennial
travel behaviour

22. THINGS TO CONSIDER:
• Which destinations suffer most from
seasonality?
• Which consequences of seasonality are we
best able to address? (Failure of the labour market,
under-utilization of resources, seasonal unemployment, failure of
small businesses…)
• Which elements of Millennial travel
behaviour can help to counter seasonality? (4
examples…)

23. 1. LAST-MINUTE LIVING
• #YOLO culture
• Prizing experiences over
assets
• 19% of Brits have used
their smartphone to book a
trip on the same day as
departure
• 59% have booked this way
in the same week as
departure
Source:: LastMinute.com Sponteneity Report 2014,
Photo: Design is Cooler

24. 2.THE QUEST FOR
SELF-IMPROVMENT
• Increased awareness of
health, fitness and well-
being
• Think yoga camps, overseas
marathons, wellness
retreats and soft-adventure
(hiking, skiing, paragliding)
• Increased interest in
personal diet: ‘slow food’
movement,

25. 3. AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES
- MEETTHE LOCALS
• Seeking to discover the
destination from new angles:
its way of life, its hidden
gems and its modern youth
culture
• Seeking to build a network,
online and offline
• Prizing experiences over
assets
Source:: LastMinute.com Sponteneity Report 2014,
Photo: Design is Cooler

26. 4. SEEKINGTO IMPACTTHEIR
DESTINATION IN A POSITIVE
WAY
• Aware of negative impact (24h
news, social media)
• As a result, looking to support
local people, initiatives and
small business
• Promote sustainable living,
limit negative impacts on the
environment

27. What effect is Millennials’
travel behaviour having on
destinations?

28. • Millennials’ online research and booking habits have
accellerated destination marketing & management
organisations’ (DMOs) transition online with apps,
mobile-friendly websites, and social media
marketing
• DMOs are re-evaluating at how new and existing
products could appeal to a younger generation
• DMOs are seeking new ways to connect travellers
with local people and culture
• DMOs are trying to accommodate Sharing Economy
services into their legislative framework

29. Putting a destination on the map for
Millennials: The case of ATHENS
Photo source: UrbanTravelBlog

30. Re-orienting Athens as a destination
for Millennial travellers
+
City & national tourism authorities
Youth travel industry specialists from overseas
Travel media
Millennial insights panel

31. What were our objectives?
• Re-orientate Athens as a desirable
destination for Millennials
• Help local city tourism businesses to
understand a new market
• Combat seasonality, recent negative
media coverage and Athens’ social crisis
by seeking new opportunities from
emerging tourism segments
• Give local young people a stake in the
city’s tourism industry and economic
future
• Put small businesses on the map for
Millennial visitors to Athens

32. What did we do?
• Connect overseas experts with local young
entrepreneurs and city authorities
• Identify current state of the youth travel
market in Athens and rest of the world
• Evaluate progress to date
• Learn from travel industry specialists, the
media and young people themselves what
solutions would work well for Athens
• Create a roadmap for helping the city
move forward and put in place a strategy
for making the Millennial market work for
the city

33. What was the result?
• Strengthened relationship between local young
entrepreneurs and city tourism authorities
• City of Athens is now actively seeking ways to
incorporate specific Millennial products into its
product range
• Gained extensive coverage in overseas travel media for
the Millennial city break market
• High level of interest from other European DMOs in
taking this approach to building youth travel market
for the long-term

34. THANK
YOU
Acharnes, Athens, Greece | T. +30 210 8941610
F. +30 210 24 04405 | E. info@toposophy.com
pjordan@toposophy.com
+31 634581566