Ypartnership Blog

THE CREDIBILITY GAP;
CONFIDENCE IN INFORMATION SOURCES VARIES WITH AGE.

Although all consumers still invest the highest degree of confidence in the recommendations of family and friends when considering vacation destinations, Millennials (18-32 years of age) are more likely than their older counterparts to have confidence in the information they obtain from online sources such as blogs, websites, or things they have seen on YouTube or other online video sharing communities according to the Ypartnership 2011 Portrait of American TravelersTM.

Interestingly, Xers (33-46 years of age) are more likely than Millennials or Boomers (47-65 years of age) to trust information on the website of an online travel agency. They are also more likely than Boomers and/or Matures (66+ years of age) to have confidence in destination and lodging reviews on a blog, information found on a company’s or destination’s website, information in travel brochures, articles in newspapers, magazines, programs on TV and radio, or things they have seen on YouTube or other online video sharing community sites.

Boomers are more likely than Matures to have confidence in reviews on blogs or information found in travel advertising, while they are less likely than their younger counterparts to have confidence in reviews on online advisory sites such as TripAdvisor, or things they have read or seen on a social media sites such as facebook or Twitter.

Not surprisingly, Matures are less likely than their younger counterparts to have confidence in online sources such as reviews or information on an online travel agency website or advisory site. They are also less likely to have confidence in information found in travel brochures or travel advertising. Compared to leisure travelers in the other generational cohorts, Matures are more likely to be confident in the recommendations of a travel agent.

The differences in confidence ascribed to various sources of information are summarized below:

  % % % % AGE DIFFERENCES◊
Extremely/Very Confident in the Following
Information Sources When Considering Vacation Destinations* Millennials Xers Boomers Matures Recommendations of a friend or family member 78 78 79 81 Reviews you have read in an online advisory site such as TripAdvisor.com 58 60 51 ab 35 abc Information in travel guidebooks 56 60 59 62 Information on the website of an online travel agency such as Expedia, Travelocity, etc. 56 63 ac 51 43 abc Reviews you have read on an online blog 54 bcd 46 cd 32 d 19 Information in a company or destination website 53 cd 53 cd 45 42 Articles in newspapers and magazines, or programs on TV and radio 47 48 d 46 41 Information in travel brochures 43 47 c 42 34 abc Recommendations of a travel agent 42 42 45 51 abc Things you have read or seen on a social media site such as Twitter or facebook 38 35 18 ab 8 ** Information in travel advertising 35 36 26 d 19 abc Things you have seen on YouTube or other online video sharing community 35 bcd 29 cd 16 13

a Denotes significant difference from Millennials. b Denotes significant difference from Xers. c Denotes significant difference from Boomers. d Denotes significant difference from Matures. * Top two box score on a scale of one to five where one equals "no confidence at all" and five equals "a great deal of confidence." ** Use caution upon interpretation due to small n-size. Significance testing not performed. ◊ Millennials = those adult consumers born since 1979.   Xers = those adult consumers born from 1965 through 1978.   Boomers = those adult consumers born from 1946 through 1964.   Matures = those adult consumers born before 1946.

It’s now common knowledge that the younger members of our society consume media much differently than their older counterparts. Less well known, however, is the insight disclosed in this research that message credibility also varies by medium for each of the major generational clusters. This should be borne in mind as you craft the content of marketing communications intended to reach prospects in each generational group.

For further information on the Ypartnership/Harrison Group 2011 Portrait of American TravelersTM please visit the Publications section of www.ypartnership.com.