My generation, the millennials, have become obsessed with traveling and seeing the world. Why is that you make ask? One contributing factor is social media. Millennials rely on social media for the most current information on where to go, what to do there, and how to get there. They want to be able to go to one place and research travel options, read reviews, plan their itineraries, compare prices and book their travel. Millennials are 23% more likely to travel than older generations, and are on track to spend a cumulative total of $1.4 billion on travel by 2020.
One place that I like to go when the travel bug strikes is Bloglovin.com. This site is similar to Pinterest in that it allows you to filter and save posts based on your interests. Bloglovin.com is a way to keep up with blogs and manage your feeds without subscribing to each individual one. The site also provides recommendations for similar blogs to follow or posts containing the same topics. Personally, I feel that travel blogs are the most valuable tool for beginner travelers. They provide tips from people that travel for a living and have first-hand experience. Furthermore, they can provide inspiration if you are unsure of which destination to tackle next. Travel bloggers know the hottest destinations before they become popular, letting you find new places to go that you may have never considered before. The Blonde Abroad was one of the first blogs that I followed on this site. She tends to post great lists, such as “20 Trips to Take in Your 20’s” or “The Best Cities to Travel Alone”. As a female traveler, I find her suggestions especially useful because I know that they come from her past experiences. Millennials tend to trust information from our peers over information received from experts in the industry. This means that travel agents and traditional guidebooks have lost their usefulness as far as this generation is concerned.
Another tool working for the travel industry (without even trying to) is Facebook. Yes, the heavy hitters in the travel industry (think Lonely Planet, airline companies, hotel chains and sites like TripAdvisor and Kayak.com) use Facebook to promote their businesses. But the real way that Facebook is influencing travel is through the posts made by your friends and family. Facebook allows you to check-in to the places you’ve been and tag locations so people can see your personal viewpoint of each destination. There is no greater push to travel than #FOMO, or fear of missing out. In addition to vacation envy, Facebook can also provide tips, reviews and pictures needed to inspire you to just go. Those “wish you were here” postcards are a thing of the past, and have been replaced by the #sorrynotsorry posts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Sources:
The Blonde Abroad • Solo Female Travel & Lifestyle Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved May 22, 2017, from http://theblondeabroad.com/
Clark, S. (2016, June 17). 4 Ways Millennials Are Changing The Face Of Travel. Retrieved May 22, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-clark/4-ways-millennials-are-ch_b_10503146.html
Rohampton, J. (2017, March 26). Does Social Media Make Millennials Want To Travel More? Retrieved May 22, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimmyrohampton/2017/03/26/does-social-media-make-millennials-want-to-travel-more/#4b4c91445c17
W., M. (2014, August 24). What the Heck is Bloglovin’, and Do I Need It? Retrieved May 22, 2017, from https://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/08/26/bloglovin/
Travel the World 