Section Name

STRATEGIES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURIST

DESTINATIONS BASED ON GENERATION Y PROFILE

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Laura Cismaru1

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexandrina Proca1
1

Transilvania University from Braov, Romania

ABSTRACT
The main aim of the paper is to propose authentic strategies and future directions based
on the profile and values of the Generation Y for Destination Management
Organizations (DMOs) to be able to develop sustainable tourism development policies
for the future. The literature review in the field of generational studies revealed several
interesting traits of the young persons belonging to Generation Y, as present and future
tourists, tourism employees and members of the local communities, compared to
previous living (active) generations Generation X and Baby Boomers. Sustainability
related issues were especially taken into consideration. Based on a synthesis of these
findings, a consumer profile was conceived for the Generation Y person, from the
perspective of a responsible behavior. In the second phase of the research, using the
Focus Group interview technique, several strategic actions were validated together with
members of Generation Y, in order to make the most appropriate selection of relevant
aspects and to conceive proper strategies, at tourist destination level, focused on the
sustainable development of tourism. Several genuine strategic directions were designed
for the use of destination management organizations in order to offer real support for
their work in the field of developing tourism policies for sustainable development based
on the special needs and preferences of members from Generation Y.
Keywords: Generation Y, strategies, tourist destination, sustainable tourism
INTRODUCTION
Individuals are indeed unique, but those of similar age can have common experiences of
historical or social significance, which can lead to common values and behaviors [8].
This is the foundation of the generational theory, authentically developed by William
Strauss and Neil Howe. Each Generation brings unique and valuable assets in the social
environment. Correctly profiling the living Generations is a key aspect for the
management teams in all fields. In tourism, the topic is of strategic importance;
therefore, more and more research studies have been addressing related aspects in the
last few years.
From the tourist destination management perspective, generational aspects need to be
approached from three distinct angles: profiling the living Generations of tourists,
profiling the living Generations of tourism employees and profiling the living
Generations of community members. Using data from these profiles, Destination
Management Organizations (DMOs) can conceive and implement strategies and action
plans tailored according to the specific traits, preferences and needs of the targeted

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Generations. Therefore, understanding the main particular traits, values and behaviors
of each social Generation of tourists, tourism employees and locals is crucial for DMOs
in order to successfully develop the tourist destination. Nowadays, being a successful
tourist destination became synonym with gaining the competitive advantage through
sustainable development [7]. DMOs need to focus on sustainable development of the
destination, on all the three pillars: economic, social and environmental. In this context,
we consider that accurately profiling the living Generations is the responsible approach
from DMOs.
PROFILING THE ACTIVE GENERATIONS
Managers of tourism organizations are working with multigenerational teams; tourist
products are developed and promoted for multigenerational groups of tourists; within
tourist destinations there are living multigenerational groups of locals. Hence, from the
perspective of DMOs, deeply understanding the characteristics and communication
preferences of tourists, locals and tourism employees from the present active
Generations is a key aspect to gaining competitive advantage. At present, there are three
active Generations: the Baby Boomers, the Gen X-ers and the Gen Y-ers or the
Millennials. A short comparative presentation of the main particularities for the three
active Generations is given below in table no.1, table no.2 and table no.3 [8], [3], [2],
[4], [15], [12], [10], [6], [5], [11], [14], [13]. Based on their main traits, we have
included at the end of each table a genuine presentation of the relationship of each
Generation with the concept of sustainability.
Table no.1: Summary profile of Baby Boomers and their relationship with sustainability
BABY BOOMERS
PRESENT AGE
MAIN
CHARACTERISTICS
AND VALUES

(approx.) 50-70
1. They live to work workaholics priorities are work, their own
interests, ethic and principles
2. They like to be in charge great visionaries
3. They are not tech savvy digital immigrants
4. They have never developed multitasking
5. They respect authority and hierarchy in the work place
6. They are very loyal and expect loyalty
7. They like details
8. They enjoy and want personal gratication but, they are willing to
wait their turn for promotions and rewards
9. They like to be mentors they are the most egocentric generation
10. They do not like those who do not share their vision and values
dislike laziness
11. They are idealistic and highly competitive
12. They have an all-comprising approach to information
13. They prefer face-to-face communication open &direct speech

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RELATIONSHIP
WITH

SUSTAINABILITY

They are the inventors of sustainability.

They have conceived the main conceptual definitions and values of
Sustainability.
They are proud of their theoretical baby, but they are respecting the
values of Sustainability into their own real lives only if it is for their own
comfort and wellbeing.
Sustainability is mainly about ecological issues.
They do not see sustainability as a source of gaining immediate
competitive advantage.

Table no.2: Summary profile of Gen X-ers and their relationship with sustainability
GENERATION X
PRESENT AGE
MAIN
CHARACTERISTICS
AND VALUES

RELATIONSHIP
WITH

SUSTAINABILITY

(approx.) 30-50
1. They work to live the life/work balance is the most important
priorities are leisure time, life experiences, family and freedom
2. They are very self-reliant and self-sufcient they work better in
isolation/ are no team-workers sometimes they lack interpersonal skills
3. They are tech savvy but not digital natives they have great respect
for technology
4. They have multitasking skills
5. They are rebel against authority they tend to complain about
everything they are pessimistic
6. They are not very loyal to any particular company they change jobs
they are very skeptical, self-focused and self-protective at work
7. They like to have fun while performing serious tasks
8. They are very impatient they are immediately solving problems
they want instant reward and recognition through title, praise, promotion,
and pay
9. They search for mentors with experience
10. They dislike ignorance and red tape
11. They are eclectic, resourceful and adaptive
12. They have a get-to-the-point approach to information they like to
synthesize information
13. They prefer e-mail communication straightforward & informal
speech multi-communicating
They are the developers of sustainability.
They have analyzed, described and made clear the main conceptual
aspects and values of Sustainability, revealing its complex and
comprehensive nature.
They are the creators of the Sustainability Best Practices concept.
They are the educators of how the sustainability values should be put
into practice.
Sustainability is in their way of behave; they want to act sustainable
because they understand its importance for them and for their children.
Sustainability is about the three pillars.
They started the theoretical demonstration of sustainability being a
source of gaining competitive advantage.

Table no.3: Summary profile of Gen Y-ers and their relationship with sustainability

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MILLENNIALS/ GENERATION Y
PRESENT AGE
MAIN
CHARACTERISTICS
AND VALUES

RELATIONSHIP
WITH

SUSTAINABILITY

(approx.) 10-30
1. They work to get connected the life/work balance is vital they
are hard and ambitious workers but they are not workaholics their
priorities are friends and family
2. They are great collaborators and favor teamwork they embrace
diversity, tolerance and multiculturalism
3. They are very tech savvy the first digital natives
4. They have significant multitasking skills they assimilate
information quickly they are smarter than most people think
5. They respect and trust authority but they are rule challengers (not
breakers) they are likely to challenge society and workplace norms
6. They are not very loyal they keep their career options open
they change career or build parallel careers
7. They like to share their life and work
8. They are very self-condent and have high self-esteem they need
lots of praise and appreciations
9. They value professional development and seek mentors to show them
the ropes they are eager to learn they have a high dependence on
managers for mentoring they have developed an inability to act
independently
10. They dislike negativity and things going slow
11. They are optimistic they have unrealistic expectations
12. They have an apparent superficial/ ignorant approach to information
if & when needed, can be found online
13. They prefer any form of technology to communicate respectful
speech multi-communicating
They are putting into practice sustainability values together they are
transforming the world
They are very civic-minded and put a high value on volunteering
They act sustainable because they accepted sustainability values as
being their generation values and that is their way of acting. They
dont question whether sustainability is good or bad; it is theirs and
they have to put it into practice together. They also choose to act
sustainable because it is trendy.
They believe in their own collective power and therefore they consider
its their generation - and not their parents that will do the most to
help the environment over the next twenty-five years [8]

In the present study we will focus on the Y Generation due to a pragmatic consideration
- an important generational shift is currently occurring in the tourism industry, the Y
Generation dramatically entering, both in the workforce and visitors [1, p.1]. Also,
the Y Generation is uniquely different compared to those that have gone before, due to
the fact that its members are the first digital natives [13].

STRATEGIC ACTIONS FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF

TOURIST DESTINATIONS FROM THE GENERATION Y PERSPECTIVE

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Taking into consideration the above mentioned importance of Generation Y, we

conducted a research in order to validate several strategic actions, together with
members of this Generation, which might be of interest for DMOs in order to plan the
sustainable development of tourist destinations in accordance with the profile of Y
Generation. The survey and the focus group were taken into consideration, as suitable
research methods. We chose to conduct two focus group discussions, mainly because we
decided that a focus group discussion can offer the possibility to the young participants
from the Y Generation to freely express their feelings, providing us a deeper
understanding of their profile and their way of addressing the topic.
We defined our groups as follows: three individual groups, each one composed of eight
persons from the Y Generation. Therefore, the age was the main criterion for recruiting
the participants. The second criterion was their knowledge regarding sustainable
tourism management. Due to the main topic of the research, all participants are students
in tourism management programmes at Transilvania University from Braov. By
consequence, all the participants might be considered as members of the same group.
All the twenty-four participants were recruited using the nomination method they
were nominated by some key persons as being good and valuable participants because
they were considered familiar with the topic and because they enjoyed sharing their
opinions with others.
The three focus groups were structured around a set of seven questions. The most
relevant answers are summarized in table no.4 below.
Table no.4: Focus group questions and main answers
Question

Main answers - Keywords

1. What is a sustainable tourist destination ecotourism, green

from your point of view?
competitiveness

tourism,

success,

2. Who in particular do you think is tourism businesses, local authorities,

responsible for making your destination a national authorities, tourism managers,
more sustainable destination and why?
tourists, NGOs
3. Do you agree with the following
statement: nowadays employees are
interested in working for companies that
strive to create sustainable economic,
social and environmental prosperity
worldwide [15]? Explain your answer.

General agreement. Explanation: because

it is the way things should be, because
these companies will show respect to their
employees too, because things need to
change in the right direction

4. Do you think the statement if you do Partial agreement. Most of participants

not exist on Facebook, you do not exist at didnt think about this possibility before.
all applies also to tourist destinations?
How do you feel about becoming friend The participants are divided into two
with destinations?
contradictory groups:
1. most of them said it would be
interesting, it would be nice, I feel
ok, its normal

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2. the rest of them said things like its not

a common thing, Ive never seen this
(its unfamiliar), I feel strange; because
the destination is not actually a person..
5. How do you feel about becoming a Most of them answered concerned or
tourism employee in your destination in worried. Therefore, they were asked to
the near future?
explain their most concern and said things
like: economic crisis, jobs for young
people that are low-paying and/or parttime, no chance to have rapid access to
higher positions, no respect from elders,
lack of practical skills etc.
6. How do you think a sustainable Internet, You Tube; emphasis on: nature,
destination should promote itself?
sports, green, blue (colors - image)
Do you think information is important?

General agreement on the prevalence of

pictures, movies which have to be
attractive, dynamic, unique

7. What would you do for your destination Most of them didnt know what to answer.
in order to support its sustainable Some of them said they will take part in
development?
sustainability related projects.
Each focus group session lasted for 60 minutes. The team of moderators consisted of the
two authors of the present article and a representative from the local DMO The
Association for Tourism Promotion and Development in Braov (APDT).
The method proved to be appropriate and it offered several advantages:
- being a flexible method, it allowed the young participants to interact during the
session, and so, new and valuable ideas came out;
- the location and the moderators being familiar to the participants, they felt free to act,
think and talk natural, helping us to better understand and profile de Y Generation, too;
- the discussions were videotape recorded, so that we could reanalyse several parts of
the discussions.
The main limitation of the research is related to the fact that, being a qualitative research
method, the results cannot be generalized for all the Romanian members of the
Generation Y.
CONCLUSION
Summarizing the results of the research presented in this article, several general
strategic directions can be formulated, for the use of DMOs which are interested in
developing the destinations in a sustainable way, taking into consideration the profile of
the key active Generation the Y Generation.

Section Name

DMOs should actively involve the members of Y Generation in tourism sustainability

related programs and actions; they value sustainability and are willing to commit
themselves to support the sustainable development of the tourist destination they are
visiting or living in. A delicate aspect within this context in related to the lack of
responsibility that young Y-ers show when it comes to who is in charge with and
responsible for the sustainable development of the tourist destination. It is not a matter
of bad intention or bad judgment; it is rather a matter of lack of information regarding
the shared responsibilities concerning the sustainable development. Therefore, special
attention should be paid to communicating their sustainability related roles and
responsibilities within the tourist destination, as tourists, employees or members of the
local community.
Promotion should focus on web 2.0 technologies and applications and text information
should be secondary; graphic representations should be favoured. Web 2.0 has to be
transformed into and used as the perfect environment for educating consumers and
community members about the sustainability values, principles and responsibilities. Due
to the fact that the members of Generation Y are the first digital natives, DMOs
should learn to speak their language in order to obtain their active involvement.
The members of Generation Y also need support, encouragement and trust. The fact that
they value sustainability and consider it the normal direction or the right way of
doing things is maybe one of the most relevant, positive and optimistic aspects revealed
within the Focus groups. They are not immature or irresponsible; they only lack
direction, attention and consideration. They need proper guidance, mentorship, training
programs and native-language instruction/education regarding the sustainable
development of tourist destinations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper is supported by the Sectorial Operational Programme Human Resources
Development (SOP HRD), financed from the European Social Fund and by the
Romanian Government under the Project number PODRU/159/1.5/S/134378.
REFERENCES
[1] Benckendorff, P., Moscardo, G., Pendergast, D., Tourism and Generation Y, CAB
International, 2010;
[2] Busch, A., A critical analysis of research related to workplace retention, satisfaction
and motivation of the Millenial Generation, Master of Science Degree Research Paper,
University of Wisconsin-Stout, 2005;
[3] Cannon, J.A., McGee, R., Talent Management and Succession Planning, 2nd edition,
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2011;
[4] Ceridwyn King, One size doesn't fit all: Tourism and hospitality employees'
response to internal brand management, International Journal of Contemporary
Hospitality Management, 22(4), pp.517 534, 2010;

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[5] Chaudhuri, S., Ghosh, R., Reverse Mentoring: A Social Exchange Tool for Keeping
the Boomers Engaged and Millennials Committed, Human Resource Development
Review, 11(1), pp. 55 76, SAGE Publications, 2012;
[6] Chavez, J., The Case for Succession Planning, Strategic Finance, 92(8), pp.15-16,
2011;
[7] Cismaru, L., European Tools for Managing and Monitoring the Sustainable
Development of Tourist Destinations, Review of General Management, 2015(1);
[8] Engels, J.E., The Millennial Generation in the Workplace, Thesis for the Master of
Applied Science in Management Sciences, University of Waterloo, 2011;
[9] Fleischer, D., Green teams: engaging employees in sustainability, GreenBiz Reports,
Green Impact Publication, 2009;
[10] Gursoy, D., Maier, T.A., Chi, C.G., Generational differences: An examination of
work values and generational gaps in the hospitality workforce. International Journal of
Hospitality Management, 27(3), pp.448458, 2008;
[11] Howe, N., Strauss, W., Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, Random
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[12] Matal, T.W., The impact of four generations on leisure organization workplace,
B.S. Thesis, California State University, Sacramento, 2010;
[13] Prensky, M., Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, 2001, [pdf] Available at:
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20 Natives,%20Digital
%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf;
[14] Umashankar, V., Kulkarni, A., Employee motivation and empowerment in
Hospitality, rhetoric or reality some observations from India, Journal of Services
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[15] Williams, Devonne A., Developing an Employee Training Addendum for a
Sustainable
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UNLV Theses/Dissertations/Professional
Papers/Capstones, Paper no.1165, 2011.

Question
Main answers - Keywords
1. What is a sustainable tourist ecotourism,
green
tourism,
destination from your point of success, competitiveness

Section Name

view?
2. Who in particular do you think
is responsible for making your
destination a more sustainable
destination and why?
3. Do you agree with the following
statement: nowadays employees
are interested in working for
companies that strive to create
sustainable economic, social and
environmental
prosperity
worldwide [15]? Explain your
answer.
4. Do you think the statement if
you do not exist on Facebook, you
do not exist at all applies also to
tourist destinations?
How do you feel about becoming
friend with destinations?

5. How do you feel about

becoming a tourism employee in
your destination in the near
future?

6. How do you think a sustainable

destination should promote itself?
Do you think information is
important?

7. What would you do for your

destination in order to support its

tourism
businesses,
local
authorities, national authorities,
tourism managers, tourists, NGOs
General agreement. Explanation:
because it is the way things
should be, because these
companies will show respect to
their employees too, because
things need to change in the right
direction
Partial
agreement.
Most
of
participants didnt think about
this possibility before.
The participants are divided into
two contradictory groups:
1. most of them said it would be
interesting, it would be nice, I
feel ok, its normal
2. the rest of them said things like
its not a common thing, Ive
never seen this (its unfamiliar),
I feel strange; because the
destination is not actually a
person..
Most
of
them
answered
concerned
or
worried.
Therefore, they were asked to
explain their most concern and
said things like: economic crisis,
jobs for young people that are
low-paying and/or part-time, no
chance to have rapid access to
higher positions, no respect from
elders, lack of practical skills etc.
Internet, You Tube; emphasis on:
nature, sports, green, blue (colors
- image)
General
agreement
on
the
prevalence of pictures, movies
which have to be
attractive,
dynamic, unique
Most of them didnt know what to
answer. Some of them said they

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sustainable development?

will take part in sustainability

related projects.

MILLENNIALS/ GENERATION Y
PRESENT AGE
(approx.) 10-30
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS AND VALUES
1. They work to get connected the life/work balance is vital they are
hard and ambitious workers but they are not workaholics their
priorities are friends and family
2. They are great collaborators and favor teamwork they embrace
diversity, tolerance and multiculturalism
3. They are very tech savvy the first digital natives
4. They have significant multitasking skills they assimilate information
quickly they are smarter than most people think
5. They respect and trust authority but they are rule challengers (not
breakers) they are likely to challenge society and workplace norms
6. They are not very loyal they keep their career options open they
change career or build parallel careers
7. They like to share their life and work
8. They are very self-confident and have high self-esteem they need
lots of praise and appreciations
9. They value professional development and seek mentors to show them
the ropes they are eager to learn they have a high dependence on
managers for mentoring they have developed an inability to act
independently
10. They dislike negativity and things going slow
11. They are optimistic they have unrealistic expectations
12. They have an apparent superficial/ ignorant approach to information
if & when needed, can be found online
13. They prefer any form of technology to communicate respectful
speech multi-communicating
RELATIONSHIP WITH SUSTAINABILITY
They are putting into practice sustainability values together they are
transforming the world
They are very civic-minded and put a high value on volunteering
They act sustainable because they accepted sustainability values as
being their generation values and that is their way of acting. They dont
question whether sustainability is good or bad; it is theirs and they
have to put it into practice together. They also choose to act sustainable
because it is trendy.
They believe in their own collective power and therefore they consider
its their generation - and not their parents that will do the most to
help the environment over the next twenty-five years