From millennials to baby boomers: Airbnb’s Asia-Pacific five travel trends for 2020

The Airbnb report, based on bookings in 2019, shows that various age groups are looking for something different

Trips into nature, sustainable holidays, food-based and vegan journeys are among the most popular

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Bookings for shepherd’s huts and tiny homes are surging on Airbnb.

Published: 8:00pm, 29 Feb 2020Updated: 8:00pm, 29 Feb 2020

It’s not the best time to travel, with coronavirus security measures making it hard to plan future holidays. However, for anyone looking for inspiration, a new report points to trends emerging among different demographic groups in Hong Kong.

Airbnb’s latest report, based on its bookings data for 2019, outlines five travel trends across Asia-Pacific. Hong Kong’s Generation Z and millennials prefer to book ‘aparthotels’, while Generation X choose to book guest suites, though bookings for simple places such as shepherd’s huts and tiny homes are up 112 per cent and 85 per cent.

Globally, Generation Z (or ‘Gen Z’) is usually defined as people born between 1997 and 2010. Millennials, meanwhile, are those that were born between 1981 to 1996, Generation X is the generation born from the early 1960s to the late 1970s, and baby boomers are those born after WWII, specifically between 1946 and 1964.

The city’s millennials showed a 100 per cent increase in ‘nature experience’ bookings this year while Generation X in Hong Kong showed a big increase in booking trips themed around history. Airbnb also reports that vegan-friendly trips were up by 579 per cent in 2019 compared to 2018.

Tokyo is in the top five hotspots for generstion Z travellers. Photo: Shutterstock

According to Airbnb, Gen Z is the fastest growing guest segment across Asia-Pacific for ‘Airbnb Experiences’, the company’s effort to extend its offering beyond being a room booking service. It reports that guest bookings in the region grew more than 300 per cent from 2018 to 2019, with Bali, Tokyo, Kyoto, Seoul and Sydney the top five Airbnb Experiences hotspots for Gen Z travellers.