Are the LGBT Millennials Disrupting the Travel Industry as a New Niche Market of Their Own?

Abstract

This research was conducted in order to acquire a better understand of LGBT Millennials’ travel behavior. The concept of Millennials’ distinctive and unique motivations in general are already well studied and identified, and theories have been established by numerous experts and academics in the field. The same goes for the concept of LGBT tourism, another widely discussed segment of the travel industry, provided by a long record of literature and research. On the other hand, the combinational theory of both segments put together is a new and unknown topic among experts and academics. This research’s objective was to identify, determine and establish a framework for their personal motivations and drivers upon vacation choice, as well as their general behavior when in a destination, especially related to the importance of sexuality and LGBT friendliness. A quantitative survey approach was used with both descriptive and analytical data sets in order to present a LGBT Millennials traveler profile. This research also compare the Millennials’ travel behavior to earlier generations in order to detect differences between both and a possible emerging niche market. The findings of this study may be of importance and interest for professionals and businesses in order to anticipate a possible growing tendency and adapt their strategies and products on an early stage. Additionally, this report may be useful for future researchers looking into this topic, used as a guide for further research achieving improved and more accurate results.