1. Dispelling the myth; Youth travel is not a niche market David Chapman Director General – WYSE Travel Confederation

2. Based in Amsterdam Formed by the merger of FIYTO and ISTC in 2005 Home of eight sector associations

3. What is a niche market? A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact. It is also a small market segment.

4. NEW HORIZONS lll The only longitudinal global study of youth travel Surveys every 5 years since 2002 Expanding geographical coverage 137 Countries Sample size:

5. Young travellers today Why do they travel? Where do they go? What do they do? How do they research and book? How much do they spend? Where will they travel in the future? What do they learn?

6. AGE PROFILE (IN %)

7. WHY ARE THEY TRAVELLING? (IN %)

8. MOTIVATIONS (IN %)

9. INFLUENCES ON DESTINATION CHOICE (IN %)

10. INFLUENCES ON TRIP TIMING (IN %)

11. HOW OFTEN DO THEY TRAVEL? (IN %)

12. TRAVEL STYLE (IN %)

13. LENGTH OF MAIN TRIP (IN DAYS) TRIP LENGTH BY TRAVEL STYLE (IN DAYS)

14. BOOKING ONLINE VS AGENCY VISIT (IN %)

15. BOOKING FACTORS (IN %)

16. INFORMATION SOURCES PRE-TRIP (IN %)

17. WHAT DO THEY WANT FROM A WEBSITE? (IN %)

18. HOW DO THEY GET THERE? (IN %)

19. WHERE DO THEY STAY? (IN %)

20. HOSTELS FAVOURED BY YOUNGER INDEPENDENT TRAVELLERS (IN %)

21. HOSTEL DIVERSIFYING THEIR MARKETS (IN %)

22. DAILY COMMUNICATION USED ON THE ROAD (IN DAILY %)

23. HOT AND COOL CITIES (IN %)

24. TOTAL SPENDING (IN €)

25. BENEFITS OF TRAVEL (IN %)

26. MY IDEAL FUTURE LIFE (IN %)

27. A DECADE OF TRENDS Staying young longer Travelling more often, further away Spending more of their parent’s money Living life online Growing information hunger Being far away, but keeping in touch with home The decline of the backpacker, the rise of the flashpacker

28. How niche is youth travel? Represent over 20% of international arrivals Generated $215bn in international tourism receipts in 2013 UNWTO estimates an increase from 200 million international youth trips to 300 million by 2020 Young people are the future of travel This is NOT niche!

29. Thank you. World Youth, Student and Educational Travel Confederation. Amsterdam. The Netherlands