83% of younger travellers want...

Travelport study suggests AI chatbots aren't appealing to any generation

83% of younger consumers aged 18-41 want more human-led customer support
93% of consumers say the best retailers make it easy to find the product(s) they want
59% of consumers say that getting exactly what they want is more important than how much they pay for it
60% of consumers say they would take longer transport routes to their destination and 49% would choose to spend more to save on carbon (CO2) emissions when traveling

New research has shown the younger generation prefers human contact in spite of the digital age, and travellers are increasingly looking for more sustainable ways to travel.

Commissioned by global technology company Travelport, the study, entitled 'What Consumers Want', revealed that 83% of younger consumers aged 18 to 41 want more human-led customer support.

It also showed that 60% of consumers say they would take longer transport routes to their destination and 49% would choose to spend more to save on carbon (CO2) emissions when traveling.

“The travel industry is poised to build on the goodwill it earned during the pandemic by getting modern and giving consumers the simple, easy and supportive experience they expect,” said Jen Catto, chief marketing officer at Travelport.

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Even tech-led Gen Z wants convenient, human-led customer support with just a quarter of so-called “digital natives” aged 18 to 41 using chatbots frequently, and three quarters of all respondents preferring to speak with a human (via chat or phone) when something goes wrong.

Consumers will also travel longer and spend more for sustainability. Travelport’s study also revealed that nearly half of consumers (49%) would choose to spend more and 60% would take longer indirect transport routes to their destination to save on carbon (CO2) emissions when traveling.

Results showed 33% of consumers ages 18 to 41 would travel two to three hours longer to save on CO2 emissions, compared to only 19% of consumers age 42 and older.