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The role of tweens in today’s family travel

August 08, 2012 | Hotel Marketing

Tweens buy experiences, not products. They believe in causes and a green planet. And, they value some of the same things as their adult contemporaries -escaping everyday life, discovering other cultures and having interesting learning experiences.

Tweens is the term given to the 20 million children in the U.S. from ages 8 to 12, also known as Generation Z (although there is debate in certain quarters whether this generation started in 1995 or 2000).

For those of us in travel, one of the most interesting aspects of this audience, according to a recent JWT study titled “Gen Z: Digital in their DNA,” is that over 25% of the tweens surveyed said that all or most of their social-network friends live a plane journey away. How exciting is that for an industry looking to find and nurture more travelers.

Equally significant, according to a BRANDchild study, tweens influence 80% of their parents’ brand purchases, and a YTV Kidsfluence study found that 40% of tweens feel they influence the choice of vacation destination, and 61% said they influence the selection of the hotel.

The challenge though, is that tweens, as the name implies, are too old for things designed for young kids, and too young for activities and approaches aimed at teens and adults. Perhaps it’s not surprising then that brands have ignored this audience—focusing on younger kids and older teens—but missing this vital and distinct audience in the middle.

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