When applied to tourism, generational cohort analysis considers travel behavior from a dynamic rather than a static perspective, arguing that each cohort will be distinctly different from past and future cohorts (Noble and Schewe 2008). Generational cohort analysis is based on the notion that people born during a specific period of time have “come of age” during a particular historical era (Mannhiem 1952), which influences the cohort member’s lifelong beliefs, values, attitudes, and behavior (Rentz and Reyolds 1991; Rogler 2002). The time between adolescence and adulthood can be particularly important. Psychoanalytic theorists Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson describe this time as a defining period for psychological development, as it is during this time that individuals form the identity that remains with them throughout life (Berger 2008). Drawing on this premise, generational cohort theorists argue that shared formative referents of “growing up” and “coming of age” together create the unique perspective of each cohort. We therefore propose that formative referents act as a primary influence or input into generational travel decision making.