SiteMinder’s report on Thai travelers shows generational differences in international travel and openness to AI in accommodation choices.
BANGKOK. THAILAND – SiteMinder has unveiled new findings on the generational differences in the accommodation preferences and behaviours of Thai travellers. The insights stem from SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2023, which analyses the survey responses of more than 10,000 travellers globally, including more than 800 from Thailand.
Asked 25 wide-ranging questions, the travellers’ responses were divided into four separate age groups for SiteMinder’s study: Gen Z (18-26), Millennials (27-42), Gen X (43-58) and Baby Boomers (59-77).
The following are the key findings SiteMinder uncovered:
- Thai Gen Zs are the least likely to travel internationally in the next year, bucking a global trend – While 69% of Thai Gen Z travellers expect to travel internationally in the next 12 months (on par with the global average), they are the least likely Thai generation to do so, according to SiteMinder’s data. At 82%, Millennials are the most likely to take an international trip (compared to 73% of Millennials globally), Gen Xs are second (75% versus 61% globally) and Baby Boomers are third (71% versus 53%). Globally, Gen Zs follow Millennials as the second most likely age group to travel internationally, however this is not the case in Thailand.
- Close to double the number of Gen Zs will work on their next trip, compared to Baby Boomers – Sixty-eight percent of Thailand’s Gen Zs plan to work on their next trip according to SiteMinder’s survey data, well above the global Gen Z average of 50%, and the highest of any Gen Z group globally. This compares to 37% of Baby Boomers that intend to work during their next stay, still well above the global average for this group of 14%.
- Openness to AI is stronger among Millennials than Gen Zs – Ninety-one percent of Thai Millennials say that they are either ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to use AI to generate an accommodation recommendation, 8% more than the 83% of Gen Zs that say the same. The number falls amongst Gen Xs (79%) and Baby Boomers (66%), however every age group in Thailand sits well above the global average of 52%.
Discussing the findings, Bradley Haines, Market Vice President – Asia Pacific at SiteMinder, said, “While travel is an important part of life for many Thai people, key differences naturally exist between age demographics. Most clearly, younger Gen Z and Millennial Thai travellers will be the agitators for local properties to become more tech-enabled in the coming years, despite Thai people of all ages being more tech-enabled than the average traveller. Through our research, we’ve learnt that approximately 80% of Thailand’s Gen Z travellers believe that their booking experience and stay on site could be better if accommodation businesses were more tech-savvy – a number that every local accommodation provider should be made aware of and seek to remedy.”
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