More youth want to volunteer while travelling: Report

An increasing number of youngsters are keen to give back to the society with 59 percent of them in a poll saying they are interested to do as a travel experience, says a report. This is almost double the global average, where only 31 percent of Gen Z--the youth born during the mid-1990s to mid-2000s--want to volunteer when travelling, says report by travel e-commerce company Booking.com.

The online research was carried among 21,807 respondents of 16 years or above in 29 markets, with most these countries represented by around 1,000 each, in May. The report reveals that 70 percent of the Gen Z travellers believe that it volunteering makes a trip more authentic because they get to meet local people and feel like they've made a difference and 61 percent who haven't volunteered before are open to doing it on their future trips.

Over 71 percent of all travellers want to reduce their carbon footprint by limiting the distance travelled. This number increases further among the Gen Z to 76 percent as they want to use more environmentally-friendly transport, walking or biking, during the holidays, says Booking.com India country manager Ritu Mehrotra. In fact, the preference for sustainable travel is higher among the older generations as 83 percent of the baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) and 78 percent of the millennials want to choose sustainable travel options, the report adds..