The Generation Y Wellness Traveler:
Marketing Implications
Nancy M. Hritz, Ph.D.
Cara L. Sidman, Ph.D.
Michelle D’Abundo, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Introduction ~
Travel for health,
fitness or
wellness:
New trends, but
not a new idea
Introduction ~
Generation Y:
 General
characteristics
 Travel characteristics
 Gen Y & marketing
Purpose of the study:
To create a marketing profile of the
Generation Y wellness traveler
Literature Review/background ~
 Defining wellness tourism:
Medical tourism
Wellness and six dimensions
 Travel motivations:
Push (internal)
Pull (external)
Method:
Survey instrument:
 Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS)
 Push/pull travel motivation statements
(borrowed from Hallab 1999)
Analysis~
• 315 Generation Y individuals from the
southeastern area of the U.S.
• Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of
push/pull questions for data reduction
• K-means cluster analysis for marketing
profile
Results~
Five distinct groups of the Gen Y Wellness
Traveler:





Escapers (19.42%)
After Hours (16.83%)
Amenity Seekers (23.95%)
Most Unwell (16.18%)
Most Well (23.62%)
Conclusions – what does it all mean?
 Relationship between push and pull
factors
 Connection between perceived
wellness and travel choices
 Socialization’s importance and nonimportance
 Amenity Seekers
Thank you~
Questions?