About New Horizons
New Horizons 5
The international youth traveller stays longer and spends more than the typical tourist, but how do we know this? Twenty years of the study dedicated to understanding young travellers, New Horizons!
Welcome to the fifth edition of the global study of youth and student travel, New Horizons. This project is conducted by WYSE Travel Confederation, the global not-for-profit association representing the entire youth, student and educational travel industry. The aim of the New Horizons study is to provide a global overview of the youth and student travel market, which was estimated to include more than 330 million international trips in 2019.
New Horizons shows the value of youth travel
Stereotypes and sweeping statements about young people are now plentiful. We hear a lot about the attitudes and behaviours of Gen Z and Millennials. However, this was not always the case, especially regarding travel and tourism.
Started in 1999, New Horizons was the first-ever global study of student and youth travellers using primary research. At that time, it was accepted that this segment of travellers was growing fast, but there was little independent data to quantify a global picture. That’s when our international network of youth travel specialists decided it was time to review the then-sparse amount of research on the youth travel market and begin collecting its own data.
The aim of the New Horizons survey has always been to gather consistent and detailed transnational information on the youth and student travel market, combining information on the social and cultural aspects of young travellers (their backgrounds, motivations, and experiences) with data on travel purchases, booking methods, information gathering, destinations, and previous travel experiences.
New Horizons is the only recurring global survey of the international youth and student travel market. Since its first edition in 2002, New Horizons has expanded in both scale and scope, going from 2,300 responses in 2002 to 57,000 in 2017.
The last edition of the New Horizons study in 2017 found that the global average youth trip was 52 days in length and cost EUR 2,867, an 18% increase in expenditure compared to 2012. We also confirmed, once again, that the purposes for travel in this age segment go well beyond leisure. Language learning, study and work experience abroad are important “purposeful travel” niches within youth, student and educational travel.
Get involved with New Horizons
New Horizons is an important project for the global WYSE Travel Confederation network of youth travel specialists.
We ask organisations like yours to share the survey with your clients. Data collection from a diverse range of businesses increases the reach of the study and deepens our collective knowledge of young travellers worldwide.
We’ll provide your organisation with a unique link to the survey to share on social media, email campaigns, newsletters and your website.
Members of WYSE Travel Confederation will receive a copy of the published report.
What will you get out of New Horizons?
The New Horizons study discovers:
- Who travels, where, why, and how?
- How are trips planned and booked?
- How much is spent and on what?
Add custom insights for your business
Are you interested to better understand a specific market, age group or type of travel?
Would you like to showcase your brand to thousands of young travellers?
Become a research sponsor and we can provide your business with custom analyses, tailored reports and/or valuable advertising exposure. Contact Wendy Morrill at research@wysetc.org to discuss research sponsorship options.
New Horizons project timeline
| June – August 2023 | New Horizons survey open |
| September 2023 | Preliminary insights presented at WYSTC |
| Q1 2024 | New Horizons 5 report published |
Data privacy
WYSE Travel Confederation surveys, including New Horizons, collect data in accordance with these principles:
- All responses are handled as confidential
- Data are only reported in aggregated terms and not identified on an individual basis for any reason
- Data are not shared with third parties.
Distributors of the New Horizons survey consent that WYSE Travel Confederation will collect, record, store, analyse and use the data collected as necessary and in accordance with its data privacy policy and Dutch law. All data collected and findings resulting from the analysis of the data become the intellectual property of WYSE Travel Confederation. WYSE Travel Confederation reserves the right publish these data.
New Horizons prize draw
Thanks to the generosity of several sponsors, respondents of New Horizons 5 will have the chance to win prizes. If your organisation would like to participate as a sponsor of the prize draw, please contact Wendy Morrill at research@wysetc.org.
Only respondents between 18 and 35 years of age will be entered into the prize draw. Entry to the prize draw is automatic upon submission of a fully completed survey with a valid email address. One entry per respondent is valid for the prize draw.
WYSE Travel Confederation will identify and contact the winner(s) within fourteen days of the prize draw. WYSE Travel Confederation reserves the right to conduct a new prize draw in order to determine a winner, if necessary. Prizes are not transferable and are non-negotiable; cash or credit alternatives will not be offered. In the event a prize becomes unavailable due to reasons beyond a sponsor’s control, the sponsor agrees to provide an appropriate and comparable substitute prize agreed upon with WYSE Travel Confederation.
WYSE Travel Confederation, survey distributors, and sponsors are not responsible for loss or damage arising from an inability to enter due the promotion due to computer failure or viruses, lost, delayed or incomplete entries, and/or any other such causes.
Questions about New Horizons
If you have questions about the New Horizons research project, please contact Wendy Morrill, Research and Education Manager at WYSE Travel Confederation at research@wysetc.org.