Would You Rather Travel Than Buy A House?
It’s a question that faces most millennials: should we be valuing experiences or possessions? And while the question itself isn’t new, the way young people today are answering it might surprise you.
Rising house prices means that home ownership is becoming a far-off aspiration for many, and a new study by Airbnb reveals that travel is taking its place.
The How We Travel Report has discerned in 2016 that 55 percent of millennials say travel is their main reason for saving money – ranking it significantly above saving for a home or car, or even paying off existing debts.
[related_articles]11882[/related_articles]The explanation that’s usually given for the changing trends among young people is the idea of an “access economy”, which basically refers to the idea that goods and services are traded on the basis of access rather than ownership. So basically millennials value experiences over things. The data from this report has been backed up by years or research, too.
Psychological research from Cornell University says that we get used to the things we own, and over time the happiness we derive from items dwindles. On the flip side, happiness that stems from things we’ve done actually goes up as time passes because those experiences become a part of us and shape our identity.
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Young people today have more freedom and access to travel than previous generations, so it stands to reason we’re using it.
The Airbnb report also concluded that 81 percent of millennials love to shape their own adventures and create their own itineraries. Authenticity within travel is key for young people today, and our favourite way to seek authentic experiences is though food (duh).
