How Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X Are Approaching Post-Pandemic Travel

Travel booking platform GetYourGuide has just released the results of a new study, which reveals that travel is picking up among Americans, although they’re divided generationally as to how they approach travel planning.

Across the board, travel was ranked highest among the activities that participants were eager to resume post-pandemic, above eating in restaurants, attending parties, and going to bars or clubs.

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There are certain aspects of travel and planning upon which all three generations seem to agree upon: prioritizing safety, irritation at having to budget for trips and a proclivity toward opting for more outdoor adventures.

Yet, there are also notable discrepancies between their attitudes toward travel and upcoming plans, such as the distances they’re willing to travel, the frequency of their trips, their respective budget sizes and what they’re willing to spend more money on during their trips.

Key Findings:

Now that vaccination rates have increased and many pandemic-related restrictions have lifted, there’s been an uptick in travel and future bookings. Across all age groups, 70 percent of survey respondents have begun to plan vacations, but destinations vary generationally.

—Over half (51 percent) of Gen Z participants are planning international trips, while 37 percent are opting for domestic vacations in the U.S.

– The top international cities U.S. travelers cited as their desired destinations include, San Juan, Dubai, the Cyclades and Paris.

– Gen Z travelers are searching for unique ways to enjoy their overseas destinations, such as a bioluminescent bay boat tour in San Juan, a desert safari in Dubai, volcanic islands cruise in Cyclades and a baking class in Paris that teaches the art of making French macarons.

—By contrast, almost half of Millennials (48 percent) and more than half (61 percent) of Gen Xers plan to stay stateside for their next vacation, while 35 percent of Millennials and 20 percent of Gen Xers are planning trips abroad.

Traveling Near and Far

With the lifting of jurisdictional travel restrictions, Gen Zers and Millennials have taken their opportunities for smaller getaways, with 37 percent of Gen Zers and 34 percent of Millennials having traveled to a different city in the past month. Gen Xers appeared to be more hesitant about venturing away from home, with 33 percent saying they haven’t traveled to another city in over a year.

All generations ranked beach vacations as their first choice, above mountain, city and countryside getaways; which explains why Miami and San Diego landed in the top for U.S. cities among all age three groups.

— Gen Z and Millennials are also eager to explore new cities, citing New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and San Diego as their top choices within the U.S.

—Gen X ranked New York City, Miami, San Diego and Washington, D.C. as their top picks.

With the Delta variant now widespread and the COVID-19 threat ongoing, all generations of American travelers still maintain safety top-of-mind, with just over half of each age group citing it as their top concern in travel planning: 57 percent of Gen Zers, 54 percent of Millennials and 55 percent of Gen Xers.

Of the total respondents, 24 percent ranked flexibility in terms of cancellations as their top concern. As infection rates and corresponding travel restrictions around the globe continue to fluctuate, consumers are looking for assurances that they won’t lose their hard-earned money if they have to alter plans at the last minute.

The Bane of Budgeting

The three generations were all in agreement in terms of pinpointing the greatest annoyance associated with travel planning and identifying which particular aspects of a trip make it the most memorable.

— All three generations cited budgeting for travel to be the most vexing aspect of planning a trip.

– Yet, Millennials were more willing than either Gen X or Gen Z to hire someone else to plan excursions for them (63 percent)

– Across all three age groups, survey participants said that having unique experiences was the most impactful element of their favorite vacations (38 percent of Gen Zers, 48 percent of Millennials and 43 percent of Gen Xers).

—However, it’s mostly Millennials who are actually budgeting more money to cover such aspects of their trips.

– 20 percent of Millennials plan on spending $51 - $100 per person for extra experiences each day of their getaway, while only 15 percent of Gen Z and 14 percent of Gen X are budgeting that amount.