Millennials are eager to take quick, spur-of-the-moment trips, according to MMGY Global's 2015 Portrait of the American Traveler. Compared to older generations, Millennial travelers are significantly more likely to have taken at least one weekend vacation during the past 12 months. In fact, such weekend trips make up almost half of all Millennial vacations.
Last-minute trips are increasingly part of the Millennial traveler landscape. Half of Millennial travelers took at least one last-minute vacation during the past 12 months. This is up 20 percent from 2013. This year, Millennials also took significantly more last-minute vacations than their older counterparts. Millennials’ willingness to take last- minute vacations aligns well with the rise in incidence of staycations and, specifically, staycations involving paid accommodations. Travel marketers would be well served to develop targeted promotional strategies to attract these local visitors in addition to those traveling from afar.
When asked why they took a last-minute vacation, half of Millennial travelers expressed a desire just to escape at the last minute. A third of respondents realized they had a last-minute opening in their schedule so they decided to go on vacation. And significantly more Millennial travelers than Boomers or Matures believe they get the best prices on travel services through last-minute deals.