Does a Generational Divide Await Asia Pacific’s Return to Travel?
Photo Credit: Will millennials, in the face of the first major economic crisis in their adult lives, be the likeliest to lead the initial wave of travel recovery after emerging from weeks of lockdown? Adobe / saksit
Skift Take
It’s hard to imagine how Asian millennials, who have been relatively unscathed by earlier financial crises, would go through the current pandemic without some drastic changes to their lifestyles and habits, travel included.
Across economies seriously battered by the coronavirus, young travelers emerging from weeks of lockdown are expected to be the most eager to explore the world once restrictions are eased, given their more fearless outlook and desire for unique experiences.
Due to the nature of Covid-19, which has the most severe impact on the elderly and on people with underlying medical conditions, it is generally assumed that the young and non-family segment are more open to resuming travel in the first wave after the crisis, as what has been seen so far in China.
Data from China's travel operators and authorities point to youngsters as a main force of travel as the country’s tourism sector showed encouraging signs of recovery. According to Trip.com, the post-90s and post-00s — travelers born after 1990 — accounted for more than half of the total bookings during the recent May Day break.
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