Tech-Savvy Travelers' Internet Habits

-- Hotels, 10/8/2008 8:14:00 AM

ORLANDO, Fla. (October 8, 2008) - The media habits of tech-savvy travelers - those who, by self-report, are active users of the latest computer, gaming and entertainment technology - differ considerably from those who are less wired according to the "NEXTgen Traveler" survey of 2,559 adults conducted in March 2008. Co-authored by Ypartnership and PhoCusWright, this in-depth exploration of the travel habits and preferences of active users of the latest computer, gaming and entertainment technology challenges some prevailing myths about this emerging market segment.

More than half (56 percent) prefer to read newspapers online while People (8 percent) and Time (6 percent) top the list of their preferred magazines. These travelers tend to watch the Fox (13 percent) and Discovery (12 percent) cable television networks and listen to rock (45 percent), classic rock (42 percent) or top 40/pop music (39 percent).

Tech-savvy travelers are active users of the Internet for a variety of applications beyond sending and receiving email (89 percent), as reflected in their online behavior. Fully seven out of 10 (71 percent) use the Internet to search for information about travel experiences and travel service suppliers while others download music (81 percent), photos (69 percent) and video (59 percent), shop online auction sites such as eBay (67 percent), and access the Internet via cell phone (33 percent).

"Surprisingly, next generation travelers are active participants in and contributors to general social networking sites but are less frequent visitors of travel-specific versions of social networking sites," said Peter C. Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Ypartnership, co-author of the survey. Only one in seven (14 percent) visits TripAdvisor while other sites such as MySpace (56 percent), Facebook (30 percent) and YouTube (34 percent) are visited more frequently.

For further information on the NEXTgen Traveler™ survey, visit the Publications section of www.ypartnership.com.

Ypartnership is a worldwide advertising and public relations agency that specializes in serving travel industry clients and co-author of the widely-quoted National Travel Monitor with Yankelovich, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.ypartnership.com.