The Millenials: Keeping it Real

New NYPCMA student member Nancy Huang, an intern at Marketing Challenges International, was once intrigued by the idea of becoming an investigative reporter. "Sleuthing, the excitement of the Edward R. Murrow days" appealed to Huang, who notes that 24-hour news coverage has changed the appeal of informing people of critical information.

Though she eventually didn't pursue a career in the field, she paired her communication and research skills with her passion for new experiences and moved to New York to study at NYU's Tourism Management program. Huang was recently hired as an intern at Marketing Challenges International - a destination management company that matches buyer to supplier - and has been assisting in research projects focused on what attracts and keeps demographics of people traveling to certain destinations.

The Biltmore House was part of a research study where she tried to determine what would attract Millenials, a flexible demographic of people born between the late 1970s and late 1990s, to a traditional place like the Biltmore. "Millenials are looking for authentic experiences," Huang says, "and they want to be able to share them instantly via social media. There was a time, when the world wasn't so connected, that people were OK working and vacationing in replica venues and theme park hotels. Now, because the exotic seems so within our reach due to our instant connection to the rest of the world, this demographic won't be satisfied with inauthentic experiences."

Beyond her love of the tourism industry, Huang is also a self-professed "foodie", sharing her food experiences with the world on her blog newyork.seriouseats.com. In addition to food, her passions include photography, traveling, writing, designing websites and accessing the online components of PCMA conferences! Huang also has a travel blog thewanderist.com.