Attract the millennial traveler with BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) tour content and technology

Currently, there’s a significant demographic shift in markets around the world. Millennials (defined as born between 1980 and 2000) represent the largest generation to date, making up 31.5 percent of the world’s population. By 2030, it’s expected that they will make up 75 percent of the American workforce.

Another interesting fact is there are approximately 2.5 billion smartphones in use today. Smartphones are a ubiquitous accessory for 93 percent of Millennials. Their hyper-connectivity gives them a unique, global perspective, transforming how they interact, consume content, travel, live, and work. Their unique point of view compels them to reject the notion of “that’s the way it has always been done” and demand that businesses approach them differently, adjusting the customer experience to meet individual needs.

There are three compelling reasons why travel companies need to pay attention to this demographic – Millennial’s love technology (71 percent of US Millennial travelers say they can’t travel without their phone), they love to travel (spending $200B in this sector in 2018). And, perhaps most importantly, today’s Millennial traveler “is your potential customer for decades to come.”

“Millennials are looking for authentic and personal experiences. BYOD tour technology can help fulfill their goals and aspirations by delivering engaging tour content in memorable ways right to their own devices,” says Jonathan Stanley, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Listen Technologies.

Millennial-Centered Experiences

Overall, the Millennial traveler wants to feel like an insider, even in a new and unfamiliar place. They want to understand “how the locals do it.” Insider knowledge, and a localized experience, help people understand and truly feel part of a destination. This feeling is dependent on how you tell your story. You need to ask yourself; how can you make visitors feel like they are a part of that story?

That’s where the happy marriage of technology and Millennials with their smartphones comes in. The BYOD culture enables companies to offer a tailored and personal experience. Gone are the days of the “one tour fits all” mentality. If you have visitors that want the dates and the facts, you can offer a tour more geared towards that. Environmental sustainability, architecture, agriculture, local customs – BYOD is the ultimate way to create customized tour experiences that Millennials want to consume.

“BYOD has changed the way we connect and travel. Customers want tour content that interests them, in the language they are most comfortable with, delivered to a device that they trust and feel comfortable operating,” says Maile Keone, President and CEO of Listen Technologies. “Millennials will embrace BYOD tourism because they’ve already embraced BYOD in every other aspect of their lives.”

Millennials and the BYOD culture are a critical market for tour operators looking to expand their business and gain 5-Star reviews. You can read the full blog to learn more about how to build a compelling BYOD market for your business, contact us, or read our Storytelling for Tours eBook.