Seven years ago, jobs didn’t exist for Eli Snyder, and the 25-year-old wasn’t confident in his travel choices.
As a full-time TikTok travel influencer, Snyder will spend the next few months exploring Vietnam and the Philippines, after spending time in Laos. The Kansas City native then plans to leave Asia and venture into six South American countries, including Argentina and Chile.
For Snyder, traveling is about being “surprised” and having “preconceptions about a place that have to be overturned.” Of course, it’s also important to connect with the local culture and eat delicious food.
“(Before) if you were going to Mexico, you would do an all-inclusive trip, but now you’re going to leave the coast and go inland and see the countryside,” he said.
Snyder is inspired by fellow young content creators who travel to less touristy places their parents never dreamed of going. “The focus is on finding your own destinations and spots, rather than tourist hotspots,” Snyder said.
More information: Best travel insurance
Young people are always roughnecks as they seek to travel the world and discover themselves. After all, youth hostels have been around for more than a century. Will Jones, brand manager at StudentUniverse, a travel platform exclusively for students and young people, said: “I think some things remain the same from generation to generation. It’s about pushing a button.” .
Since most members of Gen Z are just beginning their careers, they have less disposable income to travel and are typically looking for the best deals.
“Many people in their mid-20s are interested in saving money and getting the most value when they travel,” said Naomi Schiller, 25, an administrative assistant in the props department at the Metropolitan Opera. Naomi Schiller, 25, an administrative assistant in the Metropolitan Opera’s props department, told USA TODAY. I don’t have the money to invest in nice accommodations. ”
But Gen Z is finding new ways to travel. Gone are the days of partying until sunrise. “They’re moving away from the party type and leaning more into the cultural side of things,” Jones said. Younger generations have a growing desire to go to off-the-beaten-path places and immerse themselves in the culture of the places they visit. And the proliferation of technology and social media makes it possible.
The four travel trends for Gen Z are:
1. #TravelTikTok
More than travel guidebooks and TripAdvisor, TikTok is the new destination for young people looking for travel inspiration.
“A lot of my inspiration comes from social media like TikTok and Instagram Reels,” American University student Greta Redleaf, 20, told USA TODAY. Redleaf is participating in her study abroad program, and she said social media has been particularly helpful when she explores new destinations on the weekends.
“I’m in Scotland right now, so I follow a lot of European travel accounts, and every now and then they post great deals,” she said.
StudentUniverse’s 2024 State of Student and Youth Travel Report found that 89% of 4,000 surveyed ages 18-25 in full-time education and residing in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia He said: They are discovering new destinations through her TikTok, and 70% use his TikTok as a travel planning tool. As of January, the largest demographic of TikTok users is between the ages of 18 and 24.
Issie McDermott, 23, from Sydney, also gets her travel ideas mostly from social media. “When she was younger, she often watched her travel videos on YouTube,” she said. Currently, she uses TikTok and Instagram.
The majority of these Gen Z travelers are looking to discover destinations that are not visited by mass tourists or that are not easily found. “Right now, I want to visit Sri Lanka to combine the beaches with a more adventurous side,” McDermott said. “There seems to be a lot of hype on social media, so I want to get there before it becomes too touristy.”
Snyder said the access and connection social media provides means “people are willing to go to places that older generations would have considered too dangerous.”
2. Wake up sober
“Unlike previous generations of young people, Gen Z is moving away from the typical party trips of young adults,” Jones says. “They would rather experience new cultures and go sightseeing.” The most popular destinations among Gen Z are Italy and Japan, “more cultural destinations than traditional party venues.” ” was found to be.
According to the report, 83% of young travelers would consider holidaying without alcohol to avoid dangerous situations. They also “would rather spend their money on other things.”
“I’ve said in the past that I’m a terrible tourist. “I don’t usually travel with a strict set of ‘I want to see this, this, this,'” says the Finnish resident. Arthur Tisseronto, 26, a video game dialogue writer, told USA TODAY. “I usually try to find places that are affordable and allow me to experience the old culture that exists in the part of the city, town, or region I live in.”
As more research reveals the harmful effects of alcohol, Snyder believes more young people will travel sober for “big time.”
For Snyder, alcohol is near the bottom of his list of priorities when it comes to travel. He recently spent a month in the Middle East with his friends and didn’t have a single sip of alcohol, nor did he miss it. “That never crossed our minds,” he says. Although alcohol is legal in some countries in the Middle East, such as Jordan, it is not widely accepted. In other countries, such as Yemen, alcohol is prohibited. “I couldn’t drink alcohol, but it wasn’t a deterrent.”
3. Start on your own
More young women also want to take on adventures of their own. More than half of the women surveyed said they were interested in traveling solo, and 83% of them said they were inspired by female content creators who travel alone. People who want to jet set solo say they do it to get out of their comfort zone, discover themselves, and enjoy a sense of freedom.
McDermott, an international business student who lives in Cindy, has been traveling alone over her summer vacation for the past two months. She spent three weeks here in India, but she is currently enjoying the “nice atmosphere” of Goa.
“I noticed that so many more people were traveling alone, and my mom and dad had never done anything like that,” she said. “I’m a little more adventurous when I travel. I like seeing culture and having unique experiences rather than seeing tourist attractions and prioritizing comfort.”
She said she rarely feels at risk because she often stays in touch with fellow young travelers at her hostel, takes them on excursions, and doesn’t go out alone at night.
However, not all Gen Zers agree with this. He told USA TODAY that some people prefer to use travel as a way to visit friends and family who live far away.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, “I wanted to travel for work and pleasure, but I ended up staying at home. My roommate moved out, so I was alone. I want to be outside,” Brendan McPhillips, 24, a Denver-based construction materials salesman, told USA TODAY. “(Travelling alone) might be fun, but I felt lonely, so I started looking at places where my friends were and saying, “Hi.” “I want to go see them.” ”
4. Train Hijacking
Gen Z travelers are also interested in alternative transportation options, especially trains when available.
“If there’s a train, I’ll take the train. It doesn’t matter if the train is 30 hours long or not,” Snyder said. While the sustainability aspect is appealing to him, the main reason is the “intimate connection to the countryside that you miss on planes and buses because it’s so confusing.”
“Ideally, for environmental reasons, we would like to take the train if we can, but unfortunately trains are often twice as expensive and take twice as long as planes.” Emma Quinn, 26, a New York librarian, told USA TODAY. “My roommate and I are taking the train from Chicago to California for her two days in a sleeping car, but the experience is so great that we’ll pay for it.”
Still, the appeal of the deal may outweigh other concerns.
“I would love to travel more locally on Amtrak or a similar rail system, but due to price, schedule, or travel time, I usually end up driving.” said Schiller, a Metropolitan Opera employee. .
McPhillips said she relies on Frontier Airlines’ all-you-can-fly GoWild passes for much of her personal travel, and can get last-minute tickets at very low prices.
“People complain about Frontier and Spirit, but I’m just expecting to get from point A to point B. That’s all I really want,” he said. . “I want the cheapest tickets. When I see people complaining about everything, I think, ‘Yeah, but you’re getting the lowest price.'”
Gen Z travelers often want to find an easy way to get around once they arrive at their destination.
“Renting a car sucks,” said Mr. Ticeron, a video game dialogue writer. “But if I can get somewhere other than by car, by bus, tram, subway, train, or walking, it makes travel more validating for me.”
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can contact her at kwong@usatoday.com. Zach Wictor is a travel writer for USA TODAY based in New York. Please contact us at zwichter@usatoday.com.
