What is your perception of Generation Y (those born between 1976 and 1990)? Some of the harsher critics of this group often use adjectives such as irresponsible, disrespectful and disloyal.  But to all of you business owners out there, ignore them at your peril!

While not having yet achieved the wealth of their parents, the Generation Y’s are now reaching the time in their lives where they are commanding higher incomes, incomes that they are not afraid to dispose of as they see fit.

It’s not surprising, having grown up in the technological age, that this group is not adverse to change, and use the internet heavily in every aspect of their lives, from social networking with friends, researching holiday's and booking online, buying a new car, and even choosing what toppings they want on their pizza.

So what are their attitudes towards travel?  According to Australia’s Tourism Chief, Greg Hunt, who spoke at the Global Eco Conference in Alice Springs in November last year, Generation Y travellers are looking for a holiday with "brag factor".

He said young travellers are attracted to out of the ordinary experiences that they could tell their friends all about.  Mr Hunt went on to say that tourism businesses had to start treating tourism as a "fashion brand" as they are competing for Gen Y’s dispensable income with clothing and electronics. “We've actually got to elevate that (travel) to something that's more important to people fundamentally ... and if making it fashionable and giving it a brand or a fashion label is how we do it, I'm all for it."

According to Roy Morgan's Outbound Tourism Now and Into the Future report, 62% of Gen Y's use the internet for researching travel, compared to 10% who use newspapers.  It’s easy to see that companies who have internet booking systems are well supported by this group.