Understanding gGeneration-Y tourists: managing the risk and change associated with a new emerging market

Abstract

A number of marketing companies and social commentators have begun to discuss in the broader public arena the notion that there exists a generational cohort that is profoundly different from those that have preceded it. This cohort is variously referred to as Generation Y, the Net or Web generation, the Echo Boomers or the Millennials. Donnison (2007) found that estimates of when Generation Y started can vary between 1977 and 1983, with end dates varying between 1983 and 2009. The majority of definitions, however, fell between 1977 and 1995. This generational cohort is therefore now reaching adulthood, creating new opportunities for exploring their characteristics, values, attitudes and consumption patterns in tourism.