What's Ahead for Millennial Travelers? (WITH INFOGRAPHIC)

Expedia.com and Egencia conducted the "Future of Travel" study across five continents, asking 8,535 employed adults in 24 countries about how they conduct business and leisure travel. The study aims to discover how millennials (those between 18 and 30 years old) will impact the travel landscape as they gain decision-making power at work and purchase power in their personal lives.

the future of travel infographic

The Future of Travel Study was conducted online between August 20 and September 12, 2013 by Harris Interactive on behalf of Expedia.

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The analysis found that Millennials are far likelier to hold loyalty programs while en route; half of millennials find loyalty programs important when booking flights (48 percent) or hotels (51 percent), versus only three in ten of travelers aged 46-65 (31 percent & 30 percent respectively). For booking business travel, 32 percent of those 30 and under report using a smartphone and 20 percent report booking on a tablet. That's compared to just 12 percent for smartphone and 9 percent for tablet for those over 45. And 18-30 year-olds are far likelier than 46-65 year-olds to use mobile devices to enhance their travel experience.

The study found that younger travelers were freer with their company's money when traveling. Globally, business travelers aged 18-30 more frequently report that they will spend more of their company's money on high-end meals (42 percent) than they would their own money compared to those aged 46-65 (26 percent).Millennials are also fans of room service: Thirty-seven percent would spend more of their company's money on room service, versus only 21 percent of 46-65 year-olds.

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Rob Greyber, president of Egencia, says the company is launching Egencia TripNavigator, a smart travel companion iPhone app, that helps travelers better navigate their in-trip experience by displaying a contextual, actionable view of the itinerary and integrating real-time trip alerts.

Visit viewfinder.expedia.com.