For once, youth isn’t wasted on the young. Young adults who aren’t burdened by jobs, bills or the other trappings of adult life are realizing that they have a chance that will never arise again. They have the elbow room to go out and see the world … and they’re taking advantage of it.
Because younger travelers visit countries for an average 53 days – compared to 3 ½ for business travelers – the segment once believed to be lazy, broke and drunk is being seen differently. For Australia alone, this group is worth AU$11 billion (US$8.5 billion) this year.
Thanks to global economic developments, the definition of youth traveler has been stretched out a bit from late teens to 29 years old. Hey, people in their 30s are moving back in with their parents, so this is fair.