Profiling the Gen Y tourist

Although Generation Y (Gen Y) is seen as an important and influential travel market, it has not featured heavily within academic tourism literature. Therefore, this study seeks to assist with building a profile for the Gen Y tourist. It examines the preferences and behaviors of this cohort; specifically, the sources of information they use and the research they conduct prior to their travels. Data were collected from students studying at a large public university in the United States. Overall, the study found the participants had a preference for shorter vacations, and many had traveled internationally. There was also a direct relationship between a person\u27s previous travel history and year of study with the amount that they traveled. Furthermore, participants placed a high level of importance on conducting research prior to their departure, namely listening or reading the news and looking at weather forecasts