Youth Travel Market (The)

Youth Travel Market (The) - Europe

Mintel International Group Ltd.

- Pub ID: GN1063682

Countries covered: Europe

Youth and student travel is an increasingly important sector of the travel market - especially in Europe - with young people tending to travel more frequently and for longer periods than those who are older. Around one fifth of all tourists in the world are young people aged between 15-25 years, and it is likely that this will increase to 25% by 2006. The youth travel market has grown rapidly in recent decades, with an increasing number of specialist travel professionals offering specific products. Young travellers today provide an important basis for the travel decisions of future generations. Although youth travel has been an important cornerstone of the international travel market for 50 years, it is only the recent dramatic growth of the European student population that has put this market into the spotlight.

The importance of youth tourism as a field of interest for policymakers, researchers and travel professionals was first emphasised at the 1991 World Tourism Organization (WTO) conference, and is now fully acknowledged by different international and European Union bodies. These include the Federation of International Youth Travel Organisations (FIYTO) - for which young people have always been the spearhead for new developments in tourism, the International Student Travel Confederation (ISTC), the European Youth and Counselling Agency (ERYICA), and the European Union Federation of Youth Hostel Associations (EUFED). They all cater to the needs of a large proportion of the 140 million young people who travel internationally each year, 45% of which travel in Europe.

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