Using a Market Share Approach towards Tourism Planning for Millennial Travellers: Implications for Evidence Based Practice

Abstract

This article present data about an evidence based framework for planning basing on the unique characteristics of the millennial generation (also known as generation ‘Y') in the tourism industry. "Generation Y refers to the specific generation born between the 1990's to the early 2000. The research which synthesised existing and empirical exploratory study in Zimbabwe, established that it is also widely acknowledged that the lifestyle differences which are determined by generations has a more defined consistency than demographic attributes like education, gender and income. In the USA, millennials have begun to shape market dynamics mainly because they are three times the size of the older generation X and are the largest market since baby boomers. Since "market share is positively correlated to profits, tourism operators can gain a huge market share by harnessing the preferences of the millennial generation through meeting their unique requirements. The sheer potential of the millennial spending power makes it imperative to understand their patterns and attitudes regarding expenditure. A knowledge of their unique behavioural attributes has the potential to transform how tourism has to be planned going into the future. Such knowledge can produce economic value through diffusion of knowledge into the [service delivery] process.