Examination of the Tourism Market after the COVID-19 – Travel Habits of Generation Y and Z in Slovakia and Hungary

Abstract

The paper aims to examine the travel habits of Generation Y and Generation Z representatives after the coronavirus pandemic among Slovak and Hungarian respondents. To this end, primary data was collected using a questionnaire survey in the first half of 2022. Five hypotheses were formulated and tested with the Chi-square test in the IBM SPSS Statistics 25 software during the research. According to the results, generation Y spends, on average, a higher amount per trip than Generation Z. Both generations like to travel domestically and abroad. For Generation Y, one-week trips are the most typical; for Generation Z, shorter trips of 2-3 days. The two generations are similar in that they often find out about their chosen destination online before travelling. The most important sources of information about destinations for both generations are previous personal experiences, the opinions of friends and acquaintances, and reviews written on travel websites. Generation Y and Z also showed similarities in which factors are most important when choosing a trip. These are the price, the time spent there, the attractions and the accommodation. The length of travel time and available services are more important to Generation Y, and the choice of programs to Generation Z. It is more characteristic of Generation Y that they consider travelling a good opportunity to spend time with the family and that they consider it important to be able to reach the host online. On the other hand, Generation Z considers it more important that travel be cheap. In the case of the two generations, there was no difference in whether they recommended the destinations to their friends or whether they returned to the same place. The study supports the results of certain previous research conducted among travellers from Slovakia and Hungary but also identifies similarities and differences in the travel habits of travellers from the two countries from a generational point of view. The results help travel agencies, specialists, and websites promote destinations in what aspects they should consider if they want to sell travel to Generation Y or Z. In the case of the two generations, there were more similarities than differences in travel habits. Professionals, marketing agencies and tourist destinations should be aware of these similarities and differences when determining their marketing communication target group.