Gen Y's main reason for travelling?

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Generation Y and baby boomer travellers looking for a holiday "brag factor" are influencing a new shift towards weird and wonderful tourism experiences, a conference has heard.

Accommodation entrepreneur Grant Hunt told the Global Eco Conference at Alice Springs yesterdeay that business had to start treating tourism as a "fashion brand".

Mr Hunt, who is also a director of Tourism Australia, said travellers were increasingly looking for out-of-the-ordinary experiences they could brag their friends about, and many of these had an eco-theme.

"We're finding at the moment, more in the Gen Y set, it's very important," Mr Hunt later said.

"There are elements of travel snobbery in the baby boomer market as well.

"But people love to find new experiences and things that they think their friends haven't discovered and take it home and tell them all about it.

"So bragging rights is probably a bit of a derogatory term - it's actually more about sharing the message and passing the story."

And he said travellers were far more likely to listen to recommendations from their friends than advertising.

Mr Hunt said businesses had to start competing better for the discretionary dollar, and that meant competing with fashion and electronics.

"We've really got to get serious about travel," he said.

"Travel is the first to go in discretionary spend and the last to come back.

"We've actually got to elevate that to something that's more important to people fundamentally ... and if making it fashionable and giving it a brand or a fashion label is how we do it, I'm all for it."

He said the industry had to make interesting holidays as "cool" as owning a flat-screen TV.

Examples of unique, eco experiences heard by the conference included:

- Nightclubs in Amsterdam and the US with dance floors that generate electricity from dancing;

- Eco-accommodation in tree houses in Germany;

- Bird's nest-like dining pods for couples who can enjoy dinner with tree-top nature views.

The conference continues.

- AAP