In 2023, Travel Daily Media reported that youth tourism was going through a growth streak.
At the time, younger travellers made up around 23 percent of the total number of people travelling the world.
Today, per the most recent report from UN Tourism, the numbers have remained constant, though spending on the part of younger travellers was pegged at US$424 billion as of end-2025 per the WYSE Travel Confederation.
In this feature, we look into how the sector has changed since the UN Tourism report issued in 2011 and what direction it may take moving forward.
Who’s currently on the go?
The original UN Tourism study revolved around the travel habits of Millennials and Generation Z, many of the former are now people with growing families and the latter are already finding their way in the world.
At the time, these younger travellers sought the full local experience, living like locals through homestays and academic exchange programmes.
As of September of last year, it was noted by a study by Riyanka Roy for Atlys that around 63 percent of Gen Z made at least one travel-related purchase over a 12-month period.
They are a generation that takes three trips a year, domestic and international, on average, spending around US$11,766 on travel and travel-related products.
Rather than Millennials who are now hunkering down to work and family matters, we are shifting our focus to the next travellers in line: Generation Alpha.
Born from 2010 onwards, the older members of this particular generation cannot consider themselves financially independent as yet; however, they are exerting considerable influence on travel spending in their families.
As the 2025 Hilton Trends Report points out, 70 percent of adults travelling with their teenaged children pick their destinations based on what the kids want.
Indeed, families are choosing the hotels they stay in on the basis of what amenities and services would appeal to their youngsters, as well as the possibility of them being able to meet up with their peers.
What trips are younger people taking these days?
In 2024, McKinsey & Company released the report The Way We Travel Now wherein it described the manner by which people travelled following the pandemic.
It was specifically noted that travel became a lifestyle priority for many, but most of all for younger Millennials and Gen Z.
On average, travellers from these generational groups spent 29 percent of their income on travel, considerably more than either Gen X and the Baby Boomers.
A November 2025 WYSE report points out that trips taken by younger travellers fall into any one of the following categories:
- Road trips, specifically those off the beaten track and offer the most in the way of adventure, particularly in uncharted terrain or through volunteering and staying at an agriturismo in the heart of farm country;
- Wellness travel as inspired by social media beauty and wellness experts, mostly taking on the form of restorative retreats or spa treatments wherever they’re staying;
- Trips inspired by cinema and literature, particularly to locations offering a tech-infused stay or those where period / high fantasy films and series like Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, and Harry Potter were shot; and
- Multigenerational getaways with family, but particularly those offering fun for everyone.
What’s driving youngsters to travel these days?
Experts likewise point out that more than 80 percent of younger travellers book their personal trips based on what they see on visual-centric social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
It was also noted that up to 88 percent of Gen Z travellers are thinking of putting more into their travel budgets this year, socioeconomic issues notwithstanding, in their pursuit of a wider range of experiences.
Furthermore, it is possible that younger travellers will make up 32 percent of the total number of those on the go this year, but this is something that may still evolve depending on how the current global situation plays out in the coming months.
