Description:
In 2017, the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK) found out that Generation Y prefers to book more than half of their trips online - can this trend analyzed by GfK be confirmed in 2020? By constructing an online questionnaire which has been shared via social media with participants from Generation Y (born between 1977 and 1998), the travel booking behaviour as well as the budget for vacation of this cohort have been investigated. Based on the research of the decision criteria of the German Generation Y for private travel bookings, recommendations for action are developed for local travel agencies in order to participate in the quantified sales potential of Generation Y in Germany for private travel of 5.8 billion €. Most of the 771 participants of the Digital Natives consider security and trust to be the most important criteria for their travel booking behaviour. The cohort can mainly be convinced of local travel agencies by their outstanding consulting quality, authentic experience, identical prices to online competition as well as an effective online presence. Most importantly the travel agent as a personal contact person provides security and creates trust and can therefore meet the individual needs of the customers. Local travel agencies should adapt to the developments of digital change and take new paths in order to become not a phase-out model but a model of the future.