Italians on vacation? Obsessed with Instagram, attentive to the needs of the family rather than personal enjoyment, lovers of design and looking for… a nice swimming pool. These are the results of a survey conducted by DKC Analytics on behalf of Airbnb all over the world, on a sample of 9 respondents, 500 of whom were Italian. The goal was to understand how travelers' habits change and what are the confirmed customs. The first, inevitable revolution with respect to the past is that linked to theuse of social networks, which apparently conditions the very choice of holiday destination. In fact, Italians are Instagram addicted and are in first place among European countries for what is easily defined as a "social media obsession": 63% say that the approval of the social world is crucial in choosing an accommodation and the figure affects the 70% when it comes to young people between 25 and 34 years old. It may seem ridiculous but between posts and stories, the holiday home is chosen (also) based on how well it will look in photography and how many likes and followers it will bring to our profile.
Going back to serious things, Italians confirm themselves as travelers in search of comfort: indeed the swimming pool has become a fundamental requirement for 66% of our compatriots, followed by a well-equipped kitchen (essential for 53% of travellers), air conditioning (53%) and the supply of quality linens (56%), an element whose essentiality grows progressively with the age of the sample interviewed (starting from 47% for young people between 18 and 24 years of age, reaching 72% for those over 54). Along with these, a fast internet connection and WiFi network are also among the services requested by the travellers, but surprisingly not so much. In contradiction to the obsession with social media, only 18% of the sample of Italians interviewed consider it a fundamental element of the holiday.
As far as the type of holiday is concerned, the Italians are instead confirmed as traditionalists: in disagreement with the world trend according to which entertainment is the main reason behind a trip, 48% of Italians interviewed say that people travel above all for the family. Leisure is the key reason for 35% of Italians, while business trips are only for 9%, with an important gender difference: men who travel for work purposes are almost 50% more than women women. And then there is the attention to taste and style: the location and overall quality of the accommodation remain important factors in choosing a home for 49%, but the most interesting data comes from interior design. 31% of respondents say that design is a key element in the choice of accommodation, and among these 36% are young people between 25 and 34 years old.
If the services promised in the advertisements, from air conditioning to the swimming pool, influence the choice of place and the planning of the holiday, for a platform based on sharing, the review mechanism is always considered a very strong tool. It is therefore not surprising that the verified quality and the reviews of other users play a fundamental role in the choice of booking: respectively for 50% and 32% of Italians.
