I’m at the tail of Generation X, a cohort that loves to travel with its family but also enjoys getting away from its frantic life and relaxing a bit . Let’s explore this segment of the population and its relationship with the hospitality industry.

Who is Generation X?

Generation X or Gen X, born roughly between 1965 and 1980, is the cohort following Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. In the U.S. they number around 65 million individuals. The letter “X” refers to an unknown variable (as in mathematics), or to the generation’s desire not to be defined.

The use of ‘Generation X’ to characterize this cohort was popularized by Douglas Coupland, a Canadian journalist and novelist. In 1987, he used the expression in the Vancouver Magazine. He later said that he had taken it from A Guide Through the American Status System by Paul Fussell (1983). Fussell used X to refer to people who wanted to distance themselves from the social struggle for class status and professional glory. The term was further popularized by Coupland’s 1991 novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture.

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