Top travel destinations for Generation Z

BERLIN, GERMANY — Nestpick.com has conducted a poll asking over 10,000 Gen Z-ers based in the United States, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and China what their top five urban travel destinations are. With Gen Z-ers leaving home and eager to move, Nestpick wanted to find out which cities earned a spot in their bucket list as traveling can often act as a catalyst for a person’s desire to move. This poll is part of a wider study determining the best cities for Generation Z which evaluated how cities are making themselves attractive destinations to appeal to the creators, advocates, and pioneers of
tomorrow.

Research Framework
Generation Z was first defined and contextualised based on research by the Pew Research Center. Those born between 1997-2012 are considered to be a member of Gen Z due to common key social, political, and technological circumstances. Born into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a post-9/11 world, the climate crisis, and a series of financial recessions, Gen Z-ers are known to be digital natives who value security, diversity, and autonomy, and aim to achieve it through pragmatism and determination.

Poll: the Most Wanted Travel Destinations by Generation Z
A poll was conducted to find out where Gen Z-ers across the world wanted to travel most. Given how it is the generation’s most preferred means of communication, over 10,000 responses were collected via social media where users selected their top five cities they want to travel to, of which 50% of respondents lived in urban areas, and 50% lived in rural areas. The findings for this poll is purposed to supplement the study, and does not affect the overall result of the index.

Study: 2019 Best Cities For Generation Z
A shortlist of prominent, international cities were selected based on their reputation as destinations to pursue work and education, as well as those who have shown initiative to act on the demands of previous generations such as Millennials and Generation X. Next, 110 cities were finalised based on the feasibility of collecting extensive, reliable data for the factors used to assess their livability, as well as to be representative at a global scale. Digitalisation was first measured through the integration of technology to everyday life such as e-governance, connectivity, and e-banking. The extent to which a city supports Gen Z values was then scored based on social equality, multiculturalism, and climate commitment. The prevalence of e-gaming events and concerts was accounted for in a Leisure Score. Finally, a business score was evaluated based on the entrepreneurial spirit fostered by a city through factors such as the density of social enterprises and coworking spaces.

The final result is an index composed of 22 indicators ranking cities worldwide based on their recognition of, and initiatives to prepare for this new, up-and-coming generation

Key Findings

• London ranks highly for Gen Z values overall, and standing out for Social Entrepreneurship, Concerts, and Co-Working Spaces, as well as Education and the AI Industry.

Digital

• Copenhagen has the most advanced level of e-government development, followed by Australian cities in the index, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth.
• Seoul is the highest-ranking Asian city for government digitalization, (97.86), scoring higher than London, Stockholm, and Singapore.
• Singapore has the highest Connectivity/5G score, followed by Seoul and Stockholm.
• Sweden is the best prepared for digital payments and banking, with Stockholm, Malmo, and Gothenburg achieving the highest possible score of 100 in the study.
• The highest usage of digitalised mobility services such as bike-sharing and ride-hailing goes to Paris (100.00), followed by Bern (89.11), Shanghai (75.73), Amsterdam (75.21), and Tel Aviv (74.85).
• The cities with the highest percentage of users with digitalised social habits such as social media use and mobile applications for productivity and news are Doha, Manama, and Dubai.
• Boston offers the best education for Generation Z-ers, followed by London, Los Angeles, Zurich, and Singapore.
• Central and Eastern European residents benefit from the highest government commitment to user privacy and security in the study, with Athens, Prague, Brno, Tallinn, and Bucharest placing in the top 5.
• Internet users in Shanghai and Beijing have the lowest Privacy & Security score, followed by Muscat, Jakarta, Lagos, and Casablanca.

Principles

• Dubai has the highest percentage of foreign-born residents, making it the city with the highest concentration of internationals, followed by Manama and Doha.
• Miami  is the only U.S. city to rank in the top 10 international cities, based on the percentage of foreign-born residents living in the city.
• Nordic countries have the most gender-equal societies, with Oslo, Bergen, Malmo, Gothenburg, Stockholm, and Helsinki ranking in the top six.
• Manila has a Gender Equality score of 79.43, ranking at #9, scoring higher than cities in France, Germany, the UK, and Canada.
• Madrid has the highest LGBT+ Equality score, followed by Helsinki, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen.
• Stockholm takes the strongest stance against climate change, followed by Zurich and Gothenburg. On the other hand, New Delhi, Lagos, and Beijing show the weakest commitment to climate action.
• Residents in Norway (Oslo, Bergen) have the most access to mental healthcare, followed by residents in Germany (Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich) and the UK (Glasgow, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, London).
• Similarly, Norwegian cities score highest for healthcare (Oslo, Bergen), followed by Dutch cities (Rotterdam, Utrecht, Amsterdam) and Australian cities (Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne).
• Singapore has the highest Safety score, followed by Wellington and Osaka.
• 13 cities have the highest achievable score for the Right to Protest (Wellington, Bern, Stockholm, Bergen, Geneva, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Zurich, Oslo, Auckland, Porto, Gothenburg, Malmo).

Leisure

• Seoul has the best Esports culture, followed by Los Angeles and London.
• London has the highest Concerts score, followed by Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, and Paris.

Business

• San Francisco is the most encouraging city for Entrepreneurial Spirit & Innovation, followed by Geneva, Bern, and Amsterdam.
• London has the highest registered number of Co-Working spaces, followed by New York and New Delhi.
• Bucharest is the most affordable city in the EU, followed by Warsaw and Budapest.
• 14 of the top 20 cities for Generation Z are in the 50 least affordable cities in the index. The six cities which rank highly for both Gen Z and affordability are Berlin, Manchester, Montreal, Gothenburg, Frankfurt, and Malmo.
• London has the highest Social Entrepreneurship score, with Toronto and New York making the top three. Berlin is the next leading European city, followed by Paris.
• Three of the top five cities for Social Entrepreneurship are in the United States (New York, Washington, San Francisco).
• San Francisco has the highest AI Industry score, followed by London, New York, Tel Aviv, and Paris.

“The level of connectivity native to Generation Z has shown that not only are values being shared transnationally, but so are movements,” comments Omer Kucukdere, Founder and CEO of Nestpick.com. “Gen Z-ers from Malala Yousafzai to Greta Thunberg are molding the narrative of their generation, and movements such as Fridays for Future are proving that they are a voice that demands to be heard. Recognising their voices, it is prime time we reflect upon ourselves, empathise with their concerns, and
act on them.”

“Many of us remember a time when the job market was booming or when using a single-use plastic bag didn’t give you a guilty conscience,” commented Omer Kucukdere, Founder and CEO of Nestpick.com. “For Generation Z, however, being concerned about the economic and environmental future was something conditioned from birth. For this new, evolving demographic, the ubiquity of issues ranging from climate change to growing up through a global economic crisis has made them so fundamentally distinct. To continue attracting talented, young individuals, public officials need to take legitimate action to address their concerns before they risk losing them. We hope this study calls upon legislators and private entities to meet their demands and create a more secure, sustainable, and progressive framework moving forward.”

Tags: Generation Z