Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
22nd Aug 2018

Global study highlights a jump in online bookings for under-30 travellers

Every five years, the WYSE Travel Confederation puts its New Horizons Survey in the field to monitor key trends in the under-30 travel market. The latest findings – drawing on 57,000 survey responses from young travellers around the world – were published earlier this month in New Horizons IV: A global study of the youth and student traveller. As always, the report is wide ranging and comprehensive, and this year’s edition updates and expands on a number of important findings from earlier years. One area of note is the increasing role of online booking services for millennial and Generation Z travellers. The report’s overall observation in this respect is that travel is being made more accessible by the incredible volume of travel information now available online, and by the growing range of online booking options as well. As of 2007, around 50% of millennial travel bookings were made online, and most often via a desktop computer. In the 2017 survey, respondents reported that 80% of their travel bookings were made online. And, as the following chart illustrates, an increasing share of these transactions are being carried out on mobile devices. booking-medium-reported-by-youth-travellers-in-2017-new-horizons-survey Booking medium reported by youth travellers in 2017 New Horizons survey. Source: WYSE Travel Confederation Similarly, the survey finds a pronounced shift in booking channel over the past decade. In the late 2000s, more than seven in ten of all youth travel bookings were arranged in physical travel agent offices. In 2017, a majority of bookings were made online, whether direct with suppliers or via third-party sites or online travel agencies (OTAs). The most commonly used OTAs among survey respondents were Expedia, STA Travel, Skyscanner, and StudentUniverse. booking-channel-reported-by-youth-travellers-in-2017-new-horizons-survey Booking channel, including physical travel offices and online travel agencies, or OTAs, reported by youth travellers in 2017 New Horizons survey. Source: WYSE Travel Confederation New Horizons also clearly indicates that youth travellers are planning their trips with a much greater range of information sources and information channels than was the case a decade ago. The number of sources reported by survey respondents has increased from an average of four in 2007 to nearly 11 in 2017. “Friends and family were still the most important information source for young travellers in 2017, but the importance of social media and comparison or referral websites grew significantly in 2017 compared with 2012,” notes the study report. “Sources that have become less important over the past five years include tour operator brochures, printed guidebooks, tourist offices and travel agents. Not surprisingly, more information is being gathered online at the cost of face-to-face interaction or printed sources.”

Travel for study and work

The report carries some important implications for destination marketers and recruiters alike, especially so given both the scale of the youth travel segment and its natural overlaps with study abroad markets. The UN World Tourism Organization estimates that youth travel accounted for 23% of all international arrivals in 2017, or just over 300 million trips, with the value of the youth travel market estimated at more than US$280 billion. Although nearly four in ten (38%) of all youth bookings are still for holiday travel, WYSE is tracking an increasing proportion of what might be classed as “purposeful travel” within the youth segment, from 53% of all trips in 2012 to 62% in 2017. And study figures prominently within that field of the 60%+ of youth bookings for purposeful travel, with 23% indicating that they travelled abroad for language study, another 14% reporting non-language study as the purpose of their trip, and 13% indicating that they went abroad for international work experience. For additional background, please see:

Most Recent

  • The surging demand for skills training in a rapidly changing global economy Read More
  • US issues corrected student visa data showing growth for 2024 while current trends point to an enrolment decline for 2025/26 Read More
  • Survey finds US institutions expanding agency engagement and focusing on new student markets Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

US issues corrected student visa data showing growth for 2024 while current trends point to an enrolment decline for 2025/26 In April 2025, we reported that foreign enrolments in the US had declined by -11% between March 2024...
Read more
Survey finds US institutions expanding agency engagement and focusing on new student markets AIRC (The Association of International Enrollment Management) and BONARD have just released a second edition of the State...
Read more
Canada’s language sector buffeted by policy changes in 2024 Amid reports of mounting job losses and programme cuts across Canadian education, the country’s language education providers are...
Read more
Language travel sector leaders call for a focus on value amid persistent discount pressure A June 2025 forum convened by ALTO (Association of Language Travel Organisations) confirmed that price discounting in language...
Read more
Canada: List of non-degree college programmes linked to post-study work rights has changed The Canadian government is continuing its policy of linking eligibility for a post-study work permit (PGWP) – at...
Read more
US administration revives proposal to limit terms of student visas The Trump administration has given notice of a proposed rule change that seeks to limit the term for...
Read more
How have changes in policy settings impacted international student recruitment at Australian universities? Over the past couple of years, Australian universities have been operating within a policy framework that makes it...
Read more
ICEF Podcast: Together for transparency – Building global standards for ethical international student recruitment Listen in as ICEF’s Craig Riggs and Martijn van de Veen recap some of the latest news and...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links