Millennials vs Gen Z: How do they travel?

A survey conducted by a tech travel platform in May this year encompassed the European’s travel preferences, sharing what tells apart Romanian Millennials and Gen Z, when it comes to traveling.

What are their reasons for traveling? Discovering new places and cultures is top of the list for both generations, but more important for Gen Z—58%, compared to 43.2% of Millennials. On the other hand, almost a quarter of Millennials travel to see friends and family, compared to 11% of Zeds.

How do they choose their destinations, though? For a quarter of Millennials, activities for kids play a big part, whereas only 8% of Gen Z take this into account, but for more than half of both generations, the most important criteria is accommodation prices & quality.

Digital native Gen Z focuses on creating content to share on their social media – 21.2% compared to 9.3% of Millennials. On the other hand, the older generation is more spontaneous: 59.6% of Millennials say they prefer doing nothing and enjoying spontaneous activities, while only 45% of Gen Z are comfortable with having no particular plans.

Across the two generations, the best way to find budget-friendly flights is flexibility: 29.2% Gen Z goes to book with flexible dates in mind, and 22.6% are flexible about their destination, compared to 20.7% and 14.6% of Millennials, respectively. Gen Z are most stressed about not having all the information and documentation necessary for their travels (44.2%), while Millennials are more stressed about not getting a refund for canceled flights (39.3%).

When it comes to choosing the buddy they would see the world with, 81.2% of Millennials would choose their partner, as compared to 64.2% of Gen Z, while the second preferred travel buddy would be their best friend (19% of Zeds, compared to 7% of Generation Y).

When deciding to become World Travel Hackers for the tourism platform and travel the world for four weeks with a budget of 10,000 euros while solving various travel challenges, the Romanian duo was a nice surprise, as sisters Alexandra and Andreea chose each other as the best possible partners.

On why they chose each other to travel with, Alexandra said that “I chose to travel with my sister because no one knows me better than she does. We grew up together, so we know what makes us happy or upset, and our habits are perfectly in sync. We complement each other: she is calm, while I’m more fiery and impulsive. She helps me relax in stressful situations, and I bring more adventure and adrenaline into her life. I haven’t considered anyone else because, with her, every trip becomes special.”. Andreea, her sister, adds that “I think many people don’t travel with their siblings because they don’t have the same connection or trust. We’ve always had a close relationship, and that makes all the difference. When your travel partner is also your best friend, everything becomes easier and more enjoyable.” – travel advice that works for everyone, no matter the generation they’re from.