A curated collection of can't-miss news from this week, including diverse travel trends and more. Sign up to get the TURNER Weekly Download in your inbox.
Gen Z is on the rise. According to recent data, this group will comprise 40 percent of the consumer market in the United States by 2030 and comprise 34 percent of the U.S. workforce. And Gen Z is traveling in a different way than previous generations. "Now that work-from-anywhere roles and gap years are more common, Gen Z travelers are more likely to choose to travel solo instead of waiting for someone to be available," says Adam Armstrong, CEO of Contiki. "They seek more adventurous destinations than generations before them, looking for the off-the-beaten-path places and experiences that offer them the immersion they desire."
But what about older travelers? The United Nations reports that people over the age of 65 are the world's fast growing age group. But this age group may not be getting the attention they deserve. "The tourism industry still treats amenities catering to seniors as another customer preference, not as a necessity," reports Skift's Dawit Habtemariam. "A lot of tourism businesses likely won't get serious until they see and hear about their failures to serve this lucrative demographic shift.
Some travelers are ignoring age differences and embracing multigenerational travel. "Young adults are increasingly choosing to vacation with their parents in a phenomenon called 'multi-generational travel,'" writes Refinery29's Victoria Leandra. "Considered the fastest-growing area for many travel companies, there's an emerging refocus among millennials to spend quality time with aging parents and value that time together beyond the holiday season."
Heritage travel is rising in popularity too, offering a chance to experience our ancestral past in a new and revealing way. In the Washington Post, Sheeka Sanahori traced her great-grandmother's journey—part of the 20 th century's Great Migration which saw Black people moving from the south to the north of the U.S. "No matter how you choose to ride, learning about the courage of those who participated in the Great Migration makes for an inspiring way to remember them," Sanahori writes.
It's Mac the Elephant's 40 th birthday! Watch as his keepers cook up the perfect birthday surprise.