Introduction
Young people travel inside the country and abroad on holiday, to visit friends, to study, to understand various cultures as well as for adventure and relaxation. Psychologists look upon youth travel as part of their transition to adulthood. Domestic youth travel is regarded as an extension of the education process familiarizing young people with their country. There is no widely accepted definition of the youth travel market segment. This lack of clarity contributes to the difficulty in measuring its size and characteristics.
Definition of Youth Tourism market Youth travelers are recognized today as valuable visitors who can, not only make an important economic contribution to the places they visit, but also develop personal skills, social ties and cultural links in their quest for engaging experiences. . Youth tourism market is defined by World Tourism Organization as:
• young people 30 years of age and under, who are traveling outside the family unit, not for business, and not primarily to visit friends or relatives , and whose travel includes at least one overnight stay.
Under this definition, the youth tourism market includes:
• all trips and tours of at least one night’s stay;
• domestic and international travel and;
• group and independent travel. The youth travel market can be divided into two broad categories: independent youth travel and youth group travel. Youth group travel consists of a group of six (6) or more unrelated young people traveling together. Some industry experts further divide the youth group travel segment into two groups: school-based youth group travel (also often referred to as “student travel”) and non-school based youth group travel. School-based youth group travel is specifically sanctioned by the sponsoring school, school board or school district. It should be noted that although day-trip travel is not covered ,
References: ATI (1995) (Aviation and Tourism International) Europe’s Youth Travel Market Brussels: European Travel Commission (written Bywater, M. (1993) ‘The Youth and Student Travel Market’ EIU Travel and Tourism Analyst 3 Carr, N. (1998) ‘The Young Tourist: A Case of Neglected Research’ Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research 4 (4), Carr, N. (2002) ‘ Defining Young Tourists Visiting Beach-oriented Resorts: A behavioural analysis Tourism and Hospitality Research 13 (1), Desforges, L (1998) ‘Checking out the planet’: Global Representations / Local Identities WTO ( 2005) Tourism Market Trends,– World Overview & Tourism Topics YTCC (2004) ( Youth Tourism Consortium of Canada Youth Tourism in Canada ) A situational analysis of an overlooked market. WTO (2000) Tourism Highlights, Madrid Spain. WTO (1997) Tourism 2020 vision , Madrid Spain _