Luxe Beat Magazine JANUARY 2015 | Page 105

Technology d st of als for lite’ to , during the coming year. • Happy, Smart and Fun – Overall, the Digital Elite are an upbeat crowd. Compared to less connected travelers, they are more likely to describe themselves as happy vs. , intelligent vs. , self sufficient vs. , confident vs. , fun vs. , optimistic vs. , financially secure vs. , and fit vs. . ompared to all other travelers, the Digital Elite also describe themselves as planners vs. and leaders vs. . • Smartphones – Fifty four percent of the Digital Elite use their smartphones while on vacation as often as they do at home, while use them less and use them more. igital Elite illennials are significantly more likely to use their smartphones more often on vacation than igital Elite Boomers and ers and respectively . The Digital Elite prefer to remain closely connected, even during sleep. Seven in ten sleep with their smartphone near their bed while on vacation, more than six in ten who do so at home. Among all Digital Elites, the most frequent uses of smartphones while on vacation are to: ake phone calls ake photos ccess the internet ccess email • Send texts without attached photos or videos se apps ccess social media . • Tablets – Similar to smartphone usage, 51% of the Digital Elite use their tablets as often as they do on vacation as they do at home; while use them less, and use them more. Among all Digital Elites, the most frequent uses of tablets while on vacation are to: • Comparison shop for airfares and hotel rates • Look for ratings or reviews of hotels, restaurants and destinations Book flights and hotels . Smartphone or Tablet? – The Digital Elite overwhelmingly prefer smartphones to tablets for S navigation vs. . hey prefer tablets to smartphones for almost everything else, including: • Accessing the internet vs. eading email vs. • Shopping and browsing vs. eading books vs. • Watching online videos vs. laying games vs. aking purchases vs. . For more information on the 2014 Portrait of Digital Travelers and other travel industry reports, visit lobal esearch. Survey Methodology the Digital Elite plan to take even more trips during the next 12 months, compared to 17% of their less connected counterparts. Driving this growth are illennials, with planning to take more vacations during the next 12 months, significantly more than the of Boomers and of ers who plan to do so. • Spending More – Consistent with their intention to travel more, the igital Elite spent significantly more on vacations than all other travelers during the past months , compared to , . hey plan to spend even more – 10% – on vacations during the next 12 months , , while all other travelers expect to increase their spending on vacations by only one percent to $4,025. This trend is fueled primarily by igital Elite illennials, who plan to boost their vacation spending 21%, from an average of , during the past months, 105 The information presented in The lobal ortrait of Digital Travelers™ was obtained from interviews conducted with 2,550 active leisure travelers in February 2014. Respondents were adults living in the United States with an annual household income of $50,000 or more, who had taken at least one leisure trip of 75 miles or more from home requiring overnight accommodations during the previous 12 months. The sample was balanced by statistical weighting to ensure the data are representative of all active leisure travelers in America who meet the target profile. or more information about these insights or other travel industry research from lobal, visit lobal esearch. About MMGY Global lobal is the world s largest and most integrated travel marketing firm with more than years of experience in the travel, hospitality and entertainment industries. The award-winning agency maintains a global communications practice in all marketing channels, serving many of the world s premier travel and tourism brands. lobal is author of acclaimed industry research including the ortrait of merican ravelers that identifies the habits and preferences of travelers – insights that serve as the foundation for its marketing strategy. For more information, visit lobal.