This month WYSE Travel Confederation’s Director General, David Chapman was invited by trade e-magazine Travel Daily UK to give his thoughts on the importance of the youth travel. In his guest column he discusses how a sector that generates over US$200 billion every year – a third more than Google and Microsoft’s combined 2013 revenue – is still overlooked by too many travel businesses and the opportunities for growth available to those who wake up to the value of this fast-growing sector.
“Our New Horizons III report, which examined the travel habits of over 34,000 young travellers from 137 countries, revealed that young people are travelling further, staying longer, spending more money and keeping in touch more than ever before. In 2013 alone youth travel accounted for 207 million arrivals and this market is predicted to increase by a staggering 59% over the coming decade. What’s more, by 2015 young travellers are expected to overtake business travellers, both in terms of arrivals and overall revenue.” Read more…