Youth Travel Preferences After the COVID-19 Crisis

Youth tourism is a fast-growing and increasingly important segment of the global tourism market. Youth traveler’s preferences in the Balkan region are still insufficiently explored. The crisis caused by the Covid-19 virus has had a significant impact on tourism and it will bring long-term changes to travel patterns. The aim of the paper is to determine the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the future travel plans of young people. The research included 462 respondents from the three Balkan countries: Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina which participated in online survey during the crisis peak. The literature review and the first part of the research will point out the usual travel preferences of young people. The second part of the research will show the travel plans of young people after the end of the crisis and the differences among them in the three analyzed countries. The results of the research will fill the gap in the research of the youth tourism segment and their reaction to the crisis, but it also could serve as a guide for the public and private sector in order to help the creating of incentives for travel and designing an attractive tourist offer to young people