A quarter of millennials research their holidays via the photo-sharing network Instagram, according to research from TrekAmerica.
The finding comes from a survey by the North America small group tour specialist, which quizzed 2,000 people aged 18 to 28 about their holiday habits.
Online search engines were the most popular way to research holidays (60%) and online travel agents were cited by 54% of respondents.
When it comes to booking a holiday, three quarters (76%) would use an online travel agent or holiday comparison website, while 24% said they would prefer to book with an in-store agent instead.
Almost two thirds (62%) of millennials surveyed said a group tour to North America was on their travel bucket list.
One in three said they would book a small group holiday, with 80% preferring the size of the group to be no more than 15.
Almost half (48%) said they feel safer as part of a group, while just over half (58%) of respondents said the biggest draw of going on a group tour was to explore a new city.
The top motivations for travelling were to relax (70%), explore new places (67%) and to have plenty of adventure and excitement (58%).
Almost two thirds (62%) agree that prices at the destination were a key consideration and 56% said that the cost of transport was a major driver in deciding where to go on holiday.
Richard Hanson, TrekAmerica managing director, said: “We were really interested with the findings of our survey and particularly pleased to find North America is very much on the bucket list for millennial travellers.
“We knew social media is very influential in determining millennial holiday purchasing habits but didn’t expect to see Instagram play such a prominent role during the holiday researching process.
“We were delighted to hear that safety is such a big consideration, as our goal is to make sure every Trekker on our tours has the time of their lives but feels secure knowing the tour is led by one of our professional tour leaders.”
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Joint trade portal for Grand American Adventures and TrekAmerica