• More than 70% of young people now value travelling more than ever before, and a quarter want to travel even more

Brno/Prague, 5 August 2021 – Travel-tech company Kiwi.com has become a new partner of the international student organization AIESEC, which helps young people from all over the world get involved in meaningful projects and gain practical skills. Students who go on volunteering, professional or startup internships now have access to discounted travel tickets for their chosen destination through Kiwi.com.

Interest in travel is growing again, among young people most of all. A recent Kiwi.com survey has meanwhile shown that travel is seen as more valuable than before the pandemic, and a quarter of young people aged 18-29 want to travel more than ever before. To a much lesser extent than other age groups, they are also happy to change their travel plans and are willing to undergo additional restrictions in order to reach their desired destination. Compared to older people, they also travel abroad for longer periods of time. Although current travel rules and restrictions impose limitations on them (30% of young people think they are unnecessarily strict), the vast majority, almost 70%, believe that vaccination will allow them to travel sooner, and almost the same percentage would feel safer travelling after vaccination. They also have a similar approach to the new covid-19 passport, which is considered beneficial by over 65% of young people.

According to a recent AIESEC survey, the main reasons for young people taking part in internships abroad are gaining professional experience in their field of study, and exploring new places and cultures. This supports a Kiwi.com survey which also showed that besides education and work experience, young Czech travellers are keen to experience new adventures and become more independent, including exploring new places (79%) and nature (66%), or exploring foreign cuisine (53%). Likewise, almost a third of Czechs up to the age of 29 would like to meet new people during their travels, and almost a quarter of them would be open to a summer romance.

“Offers of internships are currently limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we are now focusing mainly on internships within European countries. Participants are mostly interested in Greece, Portugal and Romania. Our survey also shows that two-thirds of respondents are interested in short-term internships lasting 6 to 12 weeks, and one-third want to go on medium or long-term internships lasting 13 to 78 weeks,” says Martin Kopecký, a representative of Czech AIESEC division.

“We are very pleased to begin our collaboration with AIESEC, supporting young people on their journey towards self-development and the discovery of the world around them. At Kiwi.com, we believe that the most valuable experiences that students can gain come from practice: from discovering their own skills and from learning about the cultures of the world,” says Eliška Řezníček Dočkalová, Director of Customer Experience at Kiwi.com.

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About AIESEC

AIESEC is a global platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential. We are a non-political, independent, not-for-profit organization run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education. Its members are interested in world issues, leadership, and management. Since we were founded, we have engaged and developed over 1,000,000 young people who have been through an AIESEC experience. The impact of our organization can be seen through our alumni who represent business, NGO, and world leaders, including one Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Martti Ahtisaari of Finland.

About Kiwi.com

Kiwi.com is a leading travel tech company founded in 2012. Its proprietary algorithm – Virtual Interlining – allows users to build unique itineraries to combine flights and ground transportation from more than 800 carriers and connects many that do not have commercial agreements. Kiwi.com powers more than 100 million searches every day and employs 2,000 people worldwide.

Kiwi.com Media Contacts

Carol Barnes, Head of Global Communications, Kiwi.com
[email protected]