The TUI think tank is currently focussing its activities on the Internet Generation. Do the internet and the use of social media have impacts on the travel behaviour of this generation? That is the key question.
The Internet Generation is the first generation to grow up with digital media. It takes them for granted. 16 to 35-year-olds Google and Skype, post on Flickr and communicate on Facebook constantly and independently no matter where they are. For them these services do not simply represent linear information infrastructure but have long become an irreplaceable component of their social and emotional lives.
Co-thinker statements in the Internet Generation
"The Internet Generation no longer goes online, it is online. The internet is taken just as for granted as the electrical power supply. It is ubiquitous and always available everywhere. Scenes from real life are transposed to the internet. I share content and opinion with my friends and value the recommendations that come from my social environment. Brands have to enter direct dialogue at eye level with their customers to be accepted as authentic. Products have to meet the needs and wishes of their customers; a brand has to listen and learn. This is crucial to homing in on the target of being loved as a brand and recommended as well as to mastering future challenges."
Stefan Edl, Facebook Germany
Stefan Edl, Facebook Germany
"The Internet Generation wants independent and variable travel options and to make their own travel plans and arrangements. The challenge facing travel operators is to offer genuine variability and at least the sense of taking control. Their big opportunity lies in the need for a guarantee of success on the basis of their expertise in the analogue world."
Dr Christoph B Melchers & Patricia Schulte-Moser, Zweieinheit – Institute for Market & Cultural Research
"Technology has become an integral part of daily life. Smartphones are the key to the world. Friends are only a click away. Social media are our constant companions. On Facebook, status messages and photos invite friends to join them on virtual journeys. Instead of leafing through brochures feedback is the basis for planning the next holiday trip."
Florian Häupl from Trendbüro, Consultant and member of the Internet Generation
"The Internet Generation confronts established corporate processes with huge expectations – in terms of their role as customers and as employees. We are only slowly coming to understand the complexity of these demands and the radical changes that accompany them."
Jochen Schmalholz, BMW Group
Social networks are an attack on the established power rules and force a radical rethinking in business, in society, politics and economics. It is no longer the providers but the customers that dictate. We have been observing these developments for many years, but the impacts are only just beginning to be felt. Enterprises with a digital deficit in their business models and corporate structures should seek to respond rapidly and appropriately.
Stephan Grabmeier, Deutsche Telekom AG