Travel brands and experiences reviewed in realtime by 16-24s through social media

A new report from Voxburner into the travel habits of young people reveals that a third (34%)  of 16-24s check in with social media at least once a day whilst travelling, with 13% admitting that they log on more than once a day.

Facebook, Trip Advisor, Twitter and Instagram are the most used networks, with young people using social media to stay in regular contact with family and friends, post photos and document their trips in great detail.

Brett Booth, a youth research and insight specialist adds, ?For young people travel is emotional, it?s exciting. It increasingly carries kudos and an instantly cashable stack of social currency.?

Surprisingly it?s the boys that are more reliant on social media, with 38% of boys checking in on social media at least once a day when they are travelling, compared to 32% of girls.

Matt Fletcher, Marketing Director at Contiki who contributed to the report says ?We are seeing young people wanting to be connected to social media 24/7 whilst they travel. It means our products are being reviewed by our customers in real time and this pushes us to ensure we offer wi-fi everywhere we can and to ensure our service levels remain at constantly high levels.?

Philippa, aged 22 from Cambridge says, ?If I?m away I need to keep tabs on what I?m missing out on. During the 5 months I?ve been in India I?ve missed out on an engagement, a baby and a pregnancy announcement. People have asked me to post more, but I think you have to be careful not to be too gap yah show-offy.?

Luke Mitchell, Head of Insight at Voxburner says, ?High use of social media whilst travelling can only increase the influence of word-of-mouth among 16-24s, as they are receiving fresh feedback and information about destinations across multiple platforms. Brands clearly have an opportunity to leverage realtime customer advocacy by integrating social media into their travel products, whether it?s a call-to-action by the swimming pool or share buttons in e-tailing. But this report needs careful scrutiny because their is a subtle balance between adding value and being intrusive.?

Despite the over reliance on social media, there are some travel experiences that technology can?t replace and where human interaction wins. 57% of respondents find the idea of using their mobile phone to meet other travellers nearby unappealing, 58% don?t want to use their phone to unlock their hotel door, whilst 59% won?t use their mobile to give a tip.

51% of 16-24s would be interested in using their mobile to pre-book activities, whilst 69% would use their mobile to translate languages.

The full Youth Travel report from Voxburner can be purchased from the website.

Notes to editors

All statistics, unless otherwise stated, are taken from the Voxburner Travel Report. The survey was carried out online. Total sample size was 1,419 16-24s in the UK. Fieldwork was undertaken in November 2013. Quotes are taken from follow-up telephone interviews and online qualitative research with the Voxburner Academy

For a press copy of the report, please contact Olivia Newman on 020 3422 7000 or email olivia@voxburner.com.

Further comments from young people:

Cameron, aged 21 from Manchester says, ?When travelling for extended periods of time, I use social media to post occasion status updates and as a means of communicating back home. I also try to upload pictures on Facebook regularly, both to make sure that I can access them if something happens to my camera and because it?s nice to show people what I?m up to.?

Sally, aged 22 from London says, ?I?d love to do a tech-detox for a week. I stare at a screen everyday - all day - so it would be nice to soak up reality for a bit.?

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