A value chain perspective of the new normal travel behaviour: A case study of Indonesian millennials

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is utterly reshaping the travelling industry. Accordingly, the tourism supply chain is presented with a tremendous challenge for adjusting towards new trends in travel, which stem from changes in tourist behaviours. This paper examines the contemporary millennial behavioural preferences within a tourism value chain perspective, a theme that is largely overlooked in literature. In carrying out the agenda, we employed a multi-attribute decision-making approach in PROMETHEE II, one which is new to the study of tourists’ behaviour. A sample of 316 Indonesian millennials who conducted domestic travel post–COVID-19 outbreak participated in the survey. Research results highlighted imagery user generated content (UGC), direct information from close relatives, accommodation services, self-catered experience and nature-based attractions to mostly resonate with the millennial traveller. In light of the results, we presented managerial implications that shed light for adjustments in the tourism value chain. This study contributes to extend the knowledge of millennials travelling behaviour from an alternative standpoint.

Keywords

tourist behaviour millennials tourism value chain new normal Indonesia

Introduction

The recent COVID-19 global pandemic has brought tourism, one of the world’s greatest markets, to a grinding halt (Nair and Sinha, 2020), significantly affecting economies relying on the sector as a source for national revenue and development. This in particular is true for Indonesia, which of lately has been pouring in efforts towards the prioritization of tourism to be the backbone of national economy (Kementrian Pariwisata Indonesia, 2019). Recognized as the contributor for roughly 5% of national GDP (Kementerian Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif, 2020), and coming in at third place for serving towards national foreign income trailing only to the oil and gas and palm oil commodities, tourism has experienced an overwhelming decline. Nonetheless, it is widely acknowledged that tourism is the most affected sector in Indonesia due to the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas of 2020, annual foreign visits have decreased 75% relative to that of 2019 (Badan Pusat Statistik Indonesia, 2021; Nursjanti and Amaliawati, 2021). Travelling restraints along with the large-scale social restrictions enforced upon citizens unavoidably crippled all related economies in supply for the industry such as hotels, restaurants, transportation and the creative economy. Despite devastating repercussions, the Indonesian government foresees a promising future for resurgence, recognizing that understanding profound tourist patterns will serve as a cornerstone towards tourism revival (Kementrian Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif, 2020).

Wen et al. (2021) suggest that environmental pressure, regulations and global panic as a consequence of COVID-19 impose enduring implications on tourism product offering, including its marketing and distribution. Accordingly, tourists’ attitude towards the travelling experience is expected to shift on a large scale. Likewise, Jiang and Ritchie (2017) underline that tourists’ perception are bound to dramatically change following disasters, which will likely gravitate towards more emphasis on safety and security considerations (Nazneen and Hong, 2020; Villace-Molinero, et al., 2021). Nevertheless, tourist behaviour post-disaster is considered critical to provide blueprints for resilient initiatives from tourism providers (Tsai et al., 2016), which would be amplified by taking into account the extended tourist experience, that is, the whole value chain delivery. Of course, the aforementioned perspective change does not only modify considerations when travelling, but would also constitute towards that of the planning, preparation and when the travel is over.

One of the most powerful markets of future global tourism is that of the millennials. The distinct cohort which is generally recognized as the most important generational group for global economy is pointed in particular to have a significant mark on the tourism industry (Kim and Park, 2020). Millennials, commonly agreed to refer to those born in between the years 1980 and 2000 (Williams and Page, 2011), indeed pertain to specific characteristics. Among others, they are considered to be digital natives (Floros et al., 2021), having a high predisposition to travelling despite constrained by time and finances (Santos et al., 2016), and being dependent on the approval of their peers (Bowen, 2015). Although there are other demographic categories prevalent towards shaping the travelling industry, millennial preferences are regarded to be the more gravitational enforcement. For example, the older generational cohort tends to perceive themselves younger than their chronological age, and therefore are apt to mimic behaviours of the millennials (Veiga et al., 2017). Albeit, in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes more critical to evaluate the travelling behaviour of millennials as a point of reference for understanding the shifting trends in the tourism value chain delivery.

Recent studies have been increasingly drawing attention to the travelling millennial behaviour, that is, Rita et al. (2018), Liu et al. (2018), Ahn et al. (2019), Folmer et al. (2019), Giachino et al. (2019), Ketter (2020), Pencarelli et al. (2020), and Du et al. (2021). These works, however, generally latch onto a particular phase or component of the whole travelling experience. In other words, research on the context of the comprehensive value chain delivery has not been given much attention. A similar argument can be made considering the COVID-19 backdrop, where studies (i.e. Nazneen and Hong, 2020; Wen et al., 2021) tend to examine the peripheries of the tourism value chain related to millennials behaviour. Nonetheless, Sigala (2020) provisions the necessity for tourism and COVID-19 related studies to engage on understanding the (new) tourists’ behaviour in light of the changing environment of travelling in the new normal era. Such in particular, is very little to be known about in the account of the full travelling experience especially in the context of Indonesia, a growing powerhouse of tourism potent.

This paper seeks to contribute to the existing literature by analysing millennials behaviour in the tourism value chain delivery of the all-inclusive tourist experience including pre-travel, actual travel and post-travel phases in the new normal era. In practical terms, we expect to convey insightful information upon the key force of the tourism market in a way that supply chain providers may set as a reference for distribution and marketing efforts to overcome the present challenges of the industry related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study aims to explore the preferences of Indonesian millennial tourists in the complete tourism value chain process post–COVID-19 outbreak.

Literature Review

Tourism is a preeminent industry worldwide. The World Tourism Organization (2021) noted that numbers of international arrivals and receipts have continued to outpace that of the world economy. As of 2019, international tourism receipts were recorded as USD 1.481 billion, suggesting potent contribution for both advanced and emerging economies. In particular, robust growth was shown for the South-East Asian region, with a notable contribution from Indonesia. Despite its illustrious spotlight, the tourism industry is indeed vulnerable to external threats such as disasters (Jiang and Ritchie, 2017), considerably due to its complex nature (Soratana et al., 2020). Tourism is interconnected with a variety of sectors such as transportation, accommodation, food and the creative economy among others. Intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity and ownership also add to the distinct features of the tourism product (Evans et al., 2012). Moreover, higher demand fluctuation and more intricate dynamics are argued by Zhang et al. (2009). Accordingly, external interruptions can have overwhelming affects to the integrated supply chain of tourism. In the recent past, terrorist attacks, economic recession and natural disasters were among the major threats for the tourism industry (Mair et al., 2016). However, unlike the previous unprecedented disasters, the novel SARS-Cov-2 or COVID-19 outbreak is considered to have more severe long-term impacts on the industry (Gössling et al., 2020). Ongoing travel bans, national lockdowns, cancellation of events and strong restrictions towards the operation of restaurants, hotels and destination attractions strongly correlate to the impediment of the tourism industry. Nonetheless, tremendous challenges are posed upon the industry for its survival and recovery in the aftermath of crises and disasters (Mair et al., 2016; Tsai et al., 2016). In regards to the COVID-19 chain reaction, one of the prominent challenges is to adapt towards the changing behaviours of tourists (Nair and Sinha, 2020; Orîndaru et al., 2021).

It is widely acknowledged that tourists are the pivotal reference for all efforts in the tourism product delivery. Swarbrooke and Horner (2016) consider that tourists’ behavioural traits are critical in the creation, promotion and selling of the tourism product. Therefore, in the new normal era, the tourism value chain should foremost comprehend towards the profound behavioural virtues of the market which would assist for tourism revival. Notwithstanding, a prominent segment of the tourism market that will definitely have a larger impact on the landscape of the tourism industry post–COVID-19 outbreak is that of millennials. The particular generational cohort in recent years have been recognized as the most important group in shaping the global market, including tourism (Kim and Park, 2020). Although there are slight varying age ranges for the millennial category, it is broadly accepted that they are those who were born in the 1980s and 1990s (Deka, 2018), hence having the experience of growing up in the millennium period. Among their distinct behavioural traits are being tech savvy, hence bringing IT into their daily lives including the whole travelling experience (Floros et al., 2021; Pencarelli et al., 2020). Moreover, they are interested in creative tourism, off-the-beat-track experiences (Ketter, 2020) and keen on the peer-to-peer or sharing economy accommodation, partially to the value for money (Ketter, 2019). Indeed, millennials are subject to financial restraints (Santos et al., 2016). A compelling trait, however, is the tendency for the need of peer approvals (Bowen, 2015), predominantly through social media (Du et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2018). They also require high standards of speed in access and delivery of services (Veiga et al., 2017). It is imperative, however, for the aforementioned characteristics to be embedded within an integrated perspective in the tourism product delivery. Nonetheless, previous works on the millennial tourists behaviour such as Rita et al. (2018), Liu et al. (2018), Ahn et al. (2019), Folmer et al. (2019), Giachino et al. (2019), Ketter (2020), Pencarelli et al. (2020), and Du et al. (2021) tend to provide attention on a particular phase or component of the travelling journey, hence bypassing the comprehensive tourism value chain perspective.

Generally speaking, the tourism value chain is the integrated set of activities that are performed to design, produce, market, deliver and support the tourism product. The integration of these activities generates profit for the providers and creates value for the customers, that is, tourists (Song et al., 2013). Accordingly, the chain consists of a variety of providers, virtually constituting that of the supply chain of providers such as tour operators, travel agencies, transportation, accommodation, and shopping and dining among others (Zhang et al., 2009). Yilmaz and Bititci (2006) proposed the tourism value chain to be structured based on a performance measurement framework comprising of win-order, pre-travel, travel and post-travel stages. Fernández-Villarán et al. (2020) further argues that in recent years, the transformation of tourism distribution has fostered a complex new multi-channel map in the value chain, notably considering tourism intermediation which has largely shifted to the online platform prominent amongst millennials. Nevertheless, in principal, the tourists’ behavioural journey can be framed into three main phases which are pre-travel, during the travel and post-travel (Akhoondnejad, 2015).

Drawing from related literature, the COVID-19 context provides a landscape of research opportunities. However, Gössling et al. (2020) notes that studies should not merely use the backdrop to replicate existing knowledge for measuring and predicting tourism impacts. Nonetheless, Sigala (2020) argues the necessity for studies to engage on understanding the (new) tourists’ behaviour, which will provision insights for restructuring the tourism product delivery in the new normal era. Studies on tourism behaviour in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic presents themes ranging from travelling intentions, risk perceptions and consumption behaviour (i.e. Nazneen et al. (2020); Wen et al. (2021)). However, they come short in recognizing the specific market of millennials in a holistic value chain perspective, a theme which also is recognized to be overlooked in literature. Accordingly, this study justifies its contribution by examining the millennial tourists’ behaviour along the tourism value chain in the new normal era post–COVID-19 outbreak.

Research Methodology

This study is descriptive in nature, which seeks to discover patterns of behaviour in activities which have not been studied before (Veal, 2017). In specific, we identified the contemporary preferences of millennial tourists in the new normal era within a comprehensive value chain perspective through a quantitative approach.

Data Sampling and Collection

This research targeted Indonesian millennials (ages 20–40 years old) who conducted domestic travel in the new normal era as the study’s population. The domestic travel market is considered a viable starting point for reviving the tourism industry post–COVID-19 outbreak (OCED, 2020; Wen et al., 2021). Accordingly, a total of 400 questionnaires developed in the google form platform were distributed online over a 2-month period from 29 May to 29 July 2021. Respondents were reached via email and online social media platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook through the non-probability convenience sampling approach.

Questionnaire Design

The survey questionnaire comprised a total of 31 questions. The first 3 questions were related to the respondents’ characteristics in age, gender and occupation. The next 4 questions were directed towards basic information related to travelling in the new normal era (travel frequency, length of stay, travel companion and the most distinguishing feature of the new normal era travel). Further, 24 statements were structured on a multi-criteria design to measure the respondents’ behavioural preferences along the whole travelling experience, that is, tourism value chain. As most (nearly all) of human judgements are multi-criteria in nature (J. P. Brans and De Smet, 2016), the usage of such construct is considered robust. In general, the tourism value chain is construed into three main phases, that is, pre-travel, the during the travel and post-travel (Akhoondnejad, 2015; Yilmaz and Bititci, 2006). Moreover, we specified the experience into sub-phases in dreaming, planning, comparing, booking (pre-travel), departing–arriving, buying tour supplies, getting around (during the travel) and sharing (post-travel) (Fernández-Villarán et al., 2020; GIZ, 2020; Pencarelli et al., 2020; Song et al., 2013; Soratana et al., 2020; Yilmaz and Bititci, 2006). Accordingly, a seven-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree–7 = strongly agree) was employed to measure the responses towards the multi-criteria behavioural statements, which comprised of tendency of use, perceived safety and security, and quickness of access and delivery. The lastly mentioned is indeed a prominent trait of millennials (Veiga et al., 2017).

Data Analysis Technique

The measurement technique employed to analyse the tourists’ behaviour is of the Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE). The particular approach belongs to the family of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) that accounts for handling more than one attribute of decision-making. Compared to other prevalent MCDM techniques such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), PROMETHEE is considered simpler in application (Brans et al., 1986) and also provides completeness of rankings (Ulengin et al., 2001). Moreover, Andayani et al. (2020) document more consistent ranking results provided by PROMETHEE in comparison to the TOPSIS method. PROMETHEE has seen a handful of applications in the field of tourism, generally regarding destination competitiveness (Lopes et al., 2018; Ranjan et al., 2016). However, to the best of our knowledge, such has yet to be applied in the topic of tourist behaviour. Therefore, our study also serves to extend the use of PROMETHEE towards the related subject. In particular, we apply the PROMETHEE II, which has the advantage of providing complete preference rankings (Alinezhad and Khalili, 2019).

Consider a set of alternatives, A = {a₁, a₂, …, a_m}, which represent the tourists’ behavioural preferences along the tourism value chain. Such will be evaluated based on a set of criteria, F = {f₁, f₂, …, f_k}, which represent tendency of use, perceived safety and security, and quickness of access and delivery as mentioned in the previous section. Without loss of generality, all criteria should be maximized. For each criterion f_j, j ϵ {1, 2, …, k} and for each pair of actions (a,b), the decision-maker that is, tourist, expresses their preference through a degree of preference P_j(a,b), P_j(a,b) ϵ [0,1], indicting preference of action a in relation over action b, based on the difference in their evaluation, calculated as

d_{j} (a, b) = f_{j} (a) - f_{j} (b)

Subsequently, the preference function is calculated as

P_{j} (a, b) = f_{j} [d_{j} (a, b)]; 0 \leq P_{j} (a, b) \leq 1

where the type of preference function for each criterion was determined through the type I or usual criterion (Alinezhad and Khalili, 2019). Accordingly, equal weights are attributed to determine the preference index through

π (a, b) = \sum_{j = 1}^{n} P_{j} (a, b) . w_{j}

As each action is compared with other m-1 actions, leaving and entering flows are calculated through

Φ^{+} (a) = \frac{1}{m - 1} \sum_{x ε A} π (a, b)

Φ^{-} (a) = \frac{1}{m - 1} \sum_{x ε A} π (a, b)

The leaving flow expresses how an alternative a outranks all other m-1 alternatives, representing the global preference for action a relative to other actions. Hence, a higher leaving flow shows that the alternative is better. On the other hand, the entering flow how an alternative a is outranked all other m-1 alternatives, representing the global weakness of a relative to all other actions. In other words, smaller leaving flows indicate a better alternative. The net flow is determined by

Φ (a) = Φ^{+} (a) - Φ^{-} (a)

Finally, the full ranking (P^II, I^II) is performed. The a alternative is deemed better than the b alternative, if

a P^{I I} b, i f Φ (a) > Φ (b)

a and b are indifferent to each other if

a I^{I I} b i f Φ (a) = Φ (b)

Accordingly, all alternatives are ranked.

Results and Discussion

Basic Travel Characteristics

Our study collected 316 completely filled and usable forms, which accounts for 70.2% of the total distributed questionnaires. Table 1 presents an overview of the sample and their main traits in the new normal era travel. It is found that the majority of respondents were predisposed to a one-time travel since the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic, implying that the Community Activities Restrictions Enforcement imposed by the Indonesian government have compelled to moderate domestic travelling. The higher percentages attributed to the one and two-day duration of stay further alludes that the millennials opt to travel within shorter geographical proximities. In regards to travel companions, the respondents were more likely on conducting group travel that skew towards smaller groups of 5 people or less. This in particular may suggest that the millennials are keen on travelling with closer relatives such as family members instead of engaging in open trips that generally entail larger groups with ‘unknown’ people, although the latter has been showing rise in the Indonesian tourism market of lately (Juliana and Shihab, 2018). As Indonesian millennials are more likely to engage in marriage and at younger ages than that of developed countries (Kurz, et al., 2019; Utomo, 2014), the case for the small-family trips seems justified. On a similar note, tendencies for travelling in smaller groups as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic are also pointed by Wen et al. (2021).

Table 1.

Respondents’ basic travel characteristics.

Category	Percentage
Gender	—
Male	47.5%
Female	52.5%
Occupation	—
Public employee	11.7%
Private employee	51.6%
Entrepreneur	16.1%
Student	5.4%
Other	15.2%
Travel frequency in the new normal era	—
Once	48.4%
Twice	17.7%
Three times	16.7%
More than three	17.1%
Duration of stay	—
1 day	35.1%
2 days	33.9%
3 days	12.0%
More than 3 days	19.0%
Travel companionship	—
Solo	32.9%
Small group (5 or less)	56.9%
Large group (more than 5)	10.2%
Most defining feature of the new normal era travel	—
Requirements for self-quarantine	4.3%
Requirements for PCR swab tests	41%
Requirements for COVID-19 vaccine certificate	4.3%
3M protocols	36.2%
CHSE certifications and protocols	14.2%

We also identified the most defining feature of the domestic travel in the new normal era to be the requirement for COVID-19 PCR Swab tests as a declaration of being virus-free, which serves as a pre-requisite for people to conduct travel between regions in Indonesia. Anticipation of such medical document pass has been pointed out by Chen et al. (2020) in order to ease travel restrictions in wake of the pandemic, supporting the efforts to recover the industry. Nonetheless, we contend the specific attribute to not only feature in temporary circumstances, but rather would be embedded into landscape of tourism value chains in the long run.

Preference of Alternatives in the Value Chain

Table 2 displays results from the PROMETHEE analysis which present the order of alternatives in each sub-phase of the tourism value chain that mostly resonates with the Indonesian millennial traveller. The higher the value of net flow indicates, the more applicable the alternative is with the traveller. Moreover, leaving and entering flows provide information on the extent on how an alternative outranks or is outranked by other alternatives. In the dreaming stage, one where the travellers obtain their inspiration to travel, respondents are inclined toward stimulus from individual posts on social media more than marketing messages and advertisements from tourism providers. In today’s age, it is necessary to recognize the uprise of social media influencers in various internet platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Razak and Mansor, 2021). Such online personalities predominantly engage on videos or pictures that provide travelling insights and motivation including budgetary tips, which is a critical element to the millennials’ consideration (Ketter, 2020). Fotis et al. (2012) even allude that online travel content is more credible and trustworthy than marketer information. The skew towards the alternative, therefore, is orderly justified.

Table 2.

Results from the PROMETHEE analysis.

Phase	Sub-phase	Alternative	Leaving flow	Entering flow	Net flow	Order of alternative
Pre-travel	Dreaming	Travel inspiration from individual posts on social media	0.3333	0.1667	0.1667	1
	Dreaming	Travel inspiration from online tour and travel advertisements	0.1667	0.3333	−0.1667	2
	Planning	Sought transportation options	0.1079	0.2230	−0.1151	2
		Sought accommodation options	1.0000	0.0000	1.0000	1
		Sought food and drink at the destination options	0.0000	0.4919	−0.4919	5
		Sought available activities at the destination	0.0886	0.2359	−0.1473	3
		Sought travelling supplies	0.0492	0.2950	−0.2457	4
	Comparing	Information directly from friends/relatives (online/offline)	0.3333	0.1667	0.1667	1
	Comparing	Information from general online/social media platforms	0.1667	0.3333	−0.1667	2
	Booking	Travel agent assistance for tickets and reservation	0.0000	0.5000	−0.5000	2
	Booking	Self-arranged reservation	0.5000	0.0000	0.5000	1
During travel	Departing–Arriving	Public/rent transportation	0.0000	0.5000	−0.5000	2
	Departing–Arriving	Rent accommodation	0.5000	0.0000	0.5000	1
	Buying supplies	Nature-based attractions	1.6380	0.0029	1.6352	1
		Culture-based attractions	0.0861	1.0952	−1.0091	3
		Other man-made attractions	0.0000	1.3534	−1.3534	4
		Shopping attractions	0.9571	0.2298	0.7273	2
	Getting around and interactions	Public/rent transportation services	0.9106	0.1275	0.7831	2
		Tour guide services	0.1275	1.8343	−1.7068	3
		Interaction with locals	1.0894	0.1657	0.9237	1
Post-travel	Sharing	Post photos and videos on social media	1.3738	0.0866	1.2872	1
		Post reviews on providers' website	0.0866	1.4529	−1.3663	3
		Post reviews on own social media	0.6262	0.5471	0.0791	2

In the planning stage, millennials put more emphasis on searching for information on where they could stay during the trip. This could be seen as somewhat unique to the contemporary travelling outlook as the cleanliness, health, safety, and environment (CHSE) certification and protocols (which is also considered preeminent in the new normal travel, see Table 1) in Indonesia appear to be more prominent to the application in the hotel industry. In fact, travellers would spend considerably lengthy and more intimate proximities with accommodation services, alluding to the criticality. This finding also suggests a shift from the argument of Choi et al. (2012) that travellers consider on accommodation services later on in the value chain relative to other travelling components. Reflecting on the leaving and entering flows, it is also interesting to note the absolute dominance of sought accommodation options above all other alternatives. The leaving flow of 1.000 and entering flow of 0.000 shows that the preference presents no weaknesses hence only strength. On the other hand, sought food and drink at the destination with a 0.000 leaving flow shows that the alternative does not present any strength in respect to all other alternatives.

When millennials compare on the possible choices from the information previously obtained, preference is suited more towards that acquired directly from friends or relatives rather than the common online platform. Despite the increasing attachment of travellers with general online information and personalities, where the degree of trust is argued to be on the same level as they have with friends (Swant, 2016), the mere new normal landscape has seemed to render millennials to a higher magnitude of informational validity, particularly related to safety and security.

Considering all initial information has been integrated, the millennial traveller precedes to the booking stage. Results point to the dominance of self-booking over the traditional use of agents. Recent studies such as Fernández-Villarán et al. (2020), Pencarelli et al. (2020), and Şchiopu et al. (2016) highlight technology advancements opt millennials with conveniences in self-reservation with individual offerings (i.e. transportation, accommodation and food) primarily by virtue of mobile aps. Features such as user generated content (UGC), geolocation and last-minute bookings among others is reasoned to propel the pre-eminence of the self-booking alternative. Related to the partial rankings, the leaving flow of 0.000 for travel agent assistance and entering flow of 0.000 for self-arranged reservations further shows that the latter dominates the former in all criteria under evaluation.

Results from the departing–arriving stage correlates to that in the planning stage, where the transportation alternative comes as the second to accommodation. In an alternate viewpoint, this can be argued to be a partial reflection to the shorter travelling distances as suggested above (in the basic travel characteristics section), implying the conveniences in using self-owned vehicles. The increasing vehicle ownership in Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik Indonesia, 2021) and strict regulations imposed upon the use of domestic public transportation also render the relatively lower preference towards public/rent transportation alternatives. Similar to findings in the planning stage, the partial rankings further reinforce the absolute strength of accommodation options over the other alternative.

In the order of alternatives for buying supplies during travel, millennials are mostly keen on visiting nature-based attractions. Since the pre-COVID world, the particular cohort has been recognized to seek for places that are authentic, off-the-beaten-path and less popular (Ketter, 2020; Şchiopu et al., 2016; Veiga et al., 2017). Accordingly, in wake of the new normal travel, natural attractions stipulate another level of appeal, primarily by virtue of being less crowded, implying a more safe and secure environment from COVID-related threats which is commonly spread in dense urban areas (Sahasranaman and Jensen, 2021). Moreover, the emergence of shopping attractions as the second in order reveal that behaviour of millennials mirror that of Indonesian domestic tourists in general who consider shopping, especially for souvenirs, an integral part to the tourism experience (Suhartanto, 2018).

The results concerning getting around and interactions at the destination rank interactions with local people at preference number one, thus alludes that Indonesian millennials are also avid for explorative reciprocal actions when on travel, similar to that suggested for the generational cohort in general (Ahn et al., 2019; Ketter, 2020; Şchiopu et al., 2016; Veiga et al., 2017). On the other hand, less preference was shown for the use of tour guide services, which merely underlines the adeptness of millennials in utilizing mobile apps for assisting in at-the-destination-related tasks such as locating and providing information on people, objects and places (Lai, 2015).

In the post-travel phase, travellers are primarily engaged on sharing their experiences with social counterparts, especially their peers. Our results show that Indonesian millennials are more inclined on sharing posts on social media through photos and/or videos. This can be argued as a disclosure towards the need for instant gratification for peers’ approval (Du et al., 2021), primarily through the number of ‘likes’ their posts generate (Veiga et al., 2017). Indeed, such to a lesser extent is provided by mere ‘wordy’ reviews, especially in the web pages of tourism providers.

Managerial Implications

In light of the results, several implications can be drawn concerning the managerial or practical point of view. Firstly, as Indonesian millennials are more inclined to obtain travel inspiration by virtue of user generated content (UGC) in social media, tourism marketers may seek to engage in collaborative efforts with past travellers and/or the so-called influencers in various online platforms to coproduce promotional campaigns, which in turn will magnify marketing effectiveness. However, as millennials will eventually seek reassurance in safety and security from their trusted inner circles, communicational information from the tourism supply chain should be reinforced in detail, up-to-date and accurate manner to be perceived as a more reliable source. Additionally, providing that the millennials accentuate more on sharing journey experiences by virtue of graphical content and in visible proximity with peers, it is imperative for providers to be more engaged in the more popular social online platforms today such as Instagram and TikTok in such way that will rejuvenate their presence and influence. For instance, at the least, providers may encourage travellers to share their posts using the features of social media hashtags and mentions to the providers themselves, particularly hinting for the safety and security elements.

Second, since Indonesian millennials put more emphasis on accommodation-related services in the value chain, this implies that providers can manoeuver on tourism offerings that centres on the hotel experience. With proper implementation of the cleanliness, health, safety and environment (CHSE) protocols, hotels may quest for pivoting strategies. For example, they may capitalize on food and beverage offerings, the need in which travellers may not be able to fulfil in the ‘regular places’ during the pandemic. This may also apply for souvenir shopping which is also found prevalent in the millennials’ journey. Nonetheless, technology will be a big part of the scheme by virtue of promoting physical distancing. Considering the alleged trend skew towards travelling in shorter distances and smaller groups, the so-called ‘staycation’, commonly referred to as the travel that involves at least one overnight leisure trip/vacation within a 50-mile drive radius of their home (James et al., 2017), is expected to cement a larger market. In addition, the accommodation sector may also cater for the alleged travel medical-pass services required in the contemporary value chain, by means of offering physical infrastructure. Although all aforementioned may be argued as applicable for the mere temporary outlook, we contend that the adjusted deliveries may also gain fair appreciation in the long run considering the longevity and enduring impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Third, it is apparent that the presence of traditional third-party agents that bridges the at-the-destination providers with travellers is diluting, thus give more room for direct services via technology in mobile apps. The rise of the peer-to-peer (P2P) platform accordingly propels for adjustments in the tourism value and supply chain to see more direct transactions.

Theoretical Implications

Theoretically, our study offers several important contributions to literature. Firstly, we provide an alternative viewpoint towards analysing the (new) tourists’ behaviour in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic through a value chain perspective, a comprehensive reference of the tourists’ journey which tends to be overlooked. We contest to go further than recent studies concerning tourist’ behaviour in the new normal era such as Wen et al. (2021) and Nazneen et al. (2020). Accordingly, we managed to provide practical implications based on a more solid foundation that was contrived from various point of references instead of a single component in the whole travellers’ journey. Second, we present the reference for millennials and domestic tourism, hinted as key forces for the future of the travelling industry post–COVID-19 (Ketter, 2020; Kim and Park, 2020; OCED, 2020; Wen et al., 2021), in the context of Indonesia. The demographic generational cohort has arguably received limited attention in tourism literature, and therefore, our analysis also sheds light in contrasting behaviours of Indonesians with that of ‘common’ millennials. We found similar traits in between such as affection for the nature-based tourism, explorative reciprocal actions and behaviours concerning the use of technology and social media. Thirdly, we contributed in the extension of the use of the multi-criteria decision-making approach of PROMETHEE in tourism literature. Previous uses of PROMETHEE in tourism are found to relate to destination competitiveness (i.e. Lopes et al., 2018; Ranjan et al., 2016); thus, its application in analysing tourists’ behaviour is novel. In this study, we used the multi-attribute construct to identify millennials’ behaviour by virtue of quickness of access and delivery, tendency of use, and perceived safety and security, which are critical criteria for millennials in the new normal era. Notwithstanding, our study also highlights probable shifting trends in the landscape of the tourism value chain in the near future, such as the pivoting and consolidation of hotel offerings, the addition of the medical-pass certificate ‘sub-phase’ and the more direct nature of chain interactions.

Final Conclusion and Directions for Future Research

This study yields a comprehension of the most promising segments of the global market: millennials, in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking a case study in Indonesia’s domestic travel, we examined the millennials’ behaviour along their tourism journey in the new normal era from a value chain perspective, a viewpoint largely overlooked in related literature. From a multi-attribute construct, a PROMETHEE II approach, considered novel for application in tourist’ behaviour, was employed to evaluate the order of preferences that mostly resonate with the millennial traveller in all sub-phases of their journey. Results show particular emphases to the user generated content (UGC) especially in form of pictures and/or videos, direct information from close relatives, accommodation options, self-catered experience and nature-based attractions. Accordingly, we contrasted the traits of Indonesians with that of the common millennial. In light of the findings, we provided insights concerning the ways in which value chain may seek to adjust their offerings, which include the adaptation of tourism providers into using the customary and more popular social media platforms. This should involve the use or endorsements of past travellers and/or social media influencers. We also project the plausible trend towards pivoting and consolidation of the tourism value chain offerings in the accommodation sector, one in which we contest to also gain fair appreciation in the long run considering the longevity and enduring impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, dilution of the traditional third-party agent in the journey propels to a more direct nature of the contemporary value chain offerings.

This research realizes several limitations that merit attention to be dealt with in future works. Primarily, our survey did not include specific questions related to the millennials’ basic information such as income, expenditure and motivation to conduct travel, which are indeed critical components to assessing travelling behaviour (Ahn et al., 2019; Yousaf et al., 2018). Moreover, this study did not embed the millennials’ social media behaviour construct during the actual travel as pointed in Pencarelli et al. (2020), which could be contrasted to that of the post-consumption phase. One may also contest for the limited number of samples and the convenience sampling technique used in this study which could hinder for more generalizable and reliable results, respectively. Future research may also conduct similar studies in different country settings to contrast what has been presented here. Lastly, due to the ever-changing landscape of demography, the emergence of the so-called generation Z provides future studies with a whole new important segment to deal with.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Rio Benedicto Bire

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