Gen Z (Part I)
In my previous blogs I covered three generations of travellers: Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. Here, I investigate Generation Z, a cohort that’s still quite young but travels a lot and is of high interest to the hospitality industry .
Generation Z (or Gen Z) is a term used to describe Americans born roughly between 1997 and 2012. In 2023, Gen Z accounted for about a fifth of the US population (around 70 million individuals).
Gen Zers have been impacted by the recession of 2007-2009 and the COVID-19 pandemic. They grew up in the era of the iPhone and the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, founded after the September 11, 2001, attacks. In their early years they witnessed defining social changes, such as the election of the first Black U.S. president (Barack Obama) and the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Gen Z is the most diverse generation of Americans to date. Nearly half of them are members of racial and ethnic minorities, and 1 in 4 identifies as Hispanic. They are more likely to reside in cities and metropolitan areas, with only 13% growing up in rural areas.