by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 6:30 PM ET, Thu August 27, 2026
Many assumptions are made about Gen Z, based on everything from their work habits to what they spend their money on. We know they’re digital natives having grown up with smartphones, social media, and the internet always available.
We also know that Gen Z generally tends to be pragmatic and money savvy. But what do we know about their travel habits, desires and goals?
It’s a question that the online travel booking platform JustFly recently set out to answer. To do this JustFly looked at data surrounding Gen Z’s summer 2026 travel habits and trends. And here's what that analysis revealed.
Seoul was apparently one of Gen Z's ‘it’ destinations this summer. The Korean hotspot was found to be over-indexing at 2.1 times compared to Gen Z's overall share of JustFly's bookings for the summer. That's the highest "over-indexing" of any destination on the JustFly platform for Gen Z.
Tokyo wasn’t far behind however with an overindexing rate of 1.8 times Gen Z's average bookings. What’s more, Tokyo was Gen Z's top overseas destination overall by total booking volume, according to JustFly. And those aren’t the only locations attracting Gen Z travelers in droves, per JustFly data. Gen Z bookings to the following destinations are increasing rapidly:
- Phoenix: +55% year-over-year
- Madrid: +47%
- Barcelona: +38%
- San Diego: +34%
- Lima: +116%
- Rio de Janeiro: +92%
- Lisbon: +78%
Spending habits of Gen Z travelers
While Millennials tend to
spend nearly identical to the overall average traveler (splashing about
$1,225 vs. the average travel spend of $1,230), Gen Z it seems is far
more frugal. JustFly data found that this generation of globetrotters
spends about one-third less or about $820 on trips.
They take shorter trips than their millennial counterparts as well, 11.6 days on average versus 12.4 days for their older peers.
And
finally, it seems Gen Z has a penchant for paying for the bag, not the
insurance. Meaning Gen Z adds baggage at above-average rates, 13.2%, but
buys travel protection at barely half the rate of Boomers (11.7% vs.
20.4%).
"What we're seeing at JustFly
is two emerging trends with Gen Z: they're redrawing the map toward
destinations like Seoul, Tokyo, and emerging cities like Lisbon and
Lima, and they're doing it entirely on their own financial terms," Ayoub Hissar, director of communications for JustFly told TravelPulse.
"They're booking shorter trips with leaner budgets, and their spending
priorities don't always match what older travelers value," added Hissar. "They don't
mind traveling farther, where their dollars stretch more, for less time
and they hit the ground running once they land."
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