The first generation of digital natives is pushing boundaries in most aspects of society and industry, including real estate, retail, employment, and even the travel industry.
According to the United Nations, approximately 20 percent of intercontinental travelers are millennials. Compared with boomers (3.5) and gen x-ers (4.0), millennials took 5.6 travels per year. Even with surmounting student loan debts and credit card bills, millennials spend over $200 billion on trips.
Millennials Are Redefining Bleisure Travel
Traveling solely for work is a thing of the past. When millennial employees go on a business trip, they want to maximize such an opportunity to enrich their cultural experience and relax. Work and play are two things no longer alienated from each other.
Work travel is now more becoming a lifestyle rather than a job-related duty. Millennial business travelers expect to be given an extra day or two to sightsee and enjoy the locality. However, this is still in line with the company’s travel policy and insurance coverage.
Even industries such as an industrial staffing agency, tourism companies, and construction-related companies are now amenable to this, seeing positive results of bleisure travel to employee’s performance. Well-traveled employees are less likely to resign from their jobs and stay more loyal to the company.
Bleisure: Millennials Value Work-Life Balance
Over the years, millennials were called different names, including over-privileged and lazy. However, that is not necessarily true for the entire segment of the population. Just because millennials do not find the traditional 9-to-5 job appealing doesn’t mean they are lazy, self-entitled wreck.
One of the main reasons why the usual desk jobs do not appear enticing to millennials is because this generation highly values work-life balance. Flexible working hours that allow them to accomplish office tasks and allow them to prioritize their personal needs are a priority.
Being the first generation who grew up with the internet, millennials feel the need to explore and get out of their comfort zone. And traveling offers the best opportunity to fill this need. Furthermore, user-generated content millennials see on social media only adds fire to their desire to roam around.
How Millennials Do It
Despite the sheer number showing that millennials prioritize travel more than other aspects of their lives, they are doing it responsibly, though. Even with several financial obligations to deal with, millennials are eager to allocate a budget for travel.
The majority of millennials agree that you do not need to be debt-free to travel. As long as you make regular payments on your loan debts and do not overspend on things, a travel lifestyle can be achieved. Moreover, enjoying an experience outweighs the cost.
Millennials are ingenious when it comes to raising money to cover for their travel lifestyle. Some opt to double down on their savings, carefully tracking down every dollar they spend and cutting off every unnecessary expenditure. Others prefer to increase their income for them to afford this lifestyle.
Why Millennials Love to Travel
The Way They Were Raised
Millennials grew up with parents who are boomers and gen x-ers. For most of them, family relations are highly valued, thus the yearly family gatherings.
Even if it is just an annual thing, most millennial kids primed going through these vacation rituals. At a young age, millennials are adept at traveling. As they grow older, millennials only want to recreate the joys they experience when going on a trip.
Live-in-the-Now Mindset
Millennials came of age during the Great Recession of 2008. As many of them witnessed how their parents lose their jobs and home, millennials learned the value of living in the moment. Since the future holds a lot of uncertainty, millennials jump into adventure now rather than withhold the desire.
Experience Over Material Things
Unlike older generations who place high regard on the status and accumulating material things, millennials prefer to collect experiences and memories. The millennial generation does not despise money; they rather splurge on matters that add to their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. It includes traveling, as it promotes a proactive lifestyle.
Cultural Interests
When millennials travel, it is more than relaxation and enjoying the view. Millennials go on trips not as a tourist but as a traveler excited to have a firsthand experience of the local culture and lifestyle. Some millennial travelers even opt to work temporarily abroad to fill this desire.
The lifestyle choices of millennials, particularly towards traveling, open multiple opportunities not only to the tourism and travel industries but also to several companies in dire need of keeping their millennial employees happy. The goal is to align with this millennial mindset to fully harness the potentials of these young professionals for the success of the business.
