Gen Z Wants to Travel, So Why Aren't They Booking?

When life gets complicated, people travel to escape it. But escaping comes with a price tag: a ticket, a hotel, food, activities. Most people can just about stretch to the destination they want. Gen Z can't always say the same.

Financial pressure means Gen Z can't go anywhere without worrying about what it's going to cost them, and that's the challenge sitting in front of every travel brand chasing this generation's spend. It's not a problem to shelve for later, either: Gen Z will soon make up one of the largest shares of global travellers, and the brands that earn their trust now are the ones who'll keep them as customers for years.

Gen Z's Spending Habits Are Holding Travel Back

According to our PION100 report, 73% of young consumers budget strictly, spending an average of $200 on things they've decided are genuinely worth it. What shapes that spending varies: where the money comes from, their lifestyle, their social life, and how much they trust a brand.

Money isn't just shaping how they spend, it's shaping how they socialise too: 66% of young consumers now choose to stay home rather than spend on going out, purely to save money.

Travel asks for more spending than almost anything else Gen Z buys, which puts it further out of reach than most categories. For travel brands, that means affordability and reliability aren't nice-to-haves, they're the entry price to even being considered.

Where Gen Z Actually Discovers Their Next Travel Brand

The question for travel brands is how to get discovered in the first place, and how to turn that interest into an actual booking.

Our research confirms that Gen Z's main discovery channels are organic feeds and explore pages, paid ads, influencers and creators, word of mouth, online marketplaces, and search engines.

Social is doing the heaviest lifting: 44% of young consumers discover new brands through organic social media content like TikTok and Instagram, and 38% through paid ads on streaming or TV.

Online marketplaces and search engines are smaller but still effective channels for travel specifically, driving 22% and 16% of discovery respectively. When Gen Z is actively looking for a destination or a brand they can trust, search is often where that search ends.

Marketing organically and using the internet to your advantage makes your brand look more credible and more attuned to what Gen Z actually needs, which is exactly what earns their attention, and eventually, their booking.

Brand Highlight: How Airbnb Became Gen Z's Go-To

Airbnb sits at #63 on the PION100 list, and it got there by expanding, not by standing still. This year alone, it added boutique and independent hotels across 20 cities, plus car rentals, airport pickups, and grocery delivery. Airbnb isn't just a place to stay anymore, it covers the whole trip.

The takeaway for any brand chasing Gen Z's travel spend: authenticity still matters, but so does making their lives easier. Broadening what you offer, without losing what made you trustworthy in the first place, is how you earn a bigger share of a smaller budget.

Three Ways to Earn Gen Z's Travel Spend

1. Make the price reachable, not just lower.

54% of young consumers use student discounts, with usage up to 50%. Setting up an exclusive deal for young consumers builds trust fast, and makes your brand the first one they think of when it's time to book.

2. Let social and search do the work.

Organic content builds credibility paid ads can't buy, and consistent, honest marketing means the algorithm starts doing the introducing for you.

3. Become a one-stop shop.

Gen Z doesn't want to spend across five different brands to plan one trip. The more of the journey you can cover, credibly, the more dependable you look.

Earn Gen Z's Trust, Then Their Bookings

Gen Z isn't opposed to travelling, they're just careful with money they don't have much spare of. The travel brands that show up as affordable, reliable, and trustworthy, the ones that make every penny feel justified, are the ones who'll earn both trust and bookings, now and for years to come.