A seasoned travel expert has unveiled seven travel trends embraced by millennials that often leave older generations scratching their heads, accustomed as they are to a more traditional approach to vacations.
Jordan Cooper, who contributes to VegOut, recently shared insights into her father’s bewilderment over how the younger crowd plans, books, and experiences travel today.
The advent of new technologies, a more flexible work environment, and evolving priorities have significantly transformed the global travel scene, giving rise to habits that are even catching on with older travelers.
However, Cooper noted that the generational gap became crystal clear during a recent conversation with her father.
“You’re staying in someone’s apartment? A stranger’s apartment? And you found this on the internet?” he exclaimed after discovering she had rented an Airbnb in Lisbon.
From utilizing apps for holiday rentals to living as digital nomads and impulsively booking international day trips, these are the seven travel habits that often leave older travelers puzzled.
Booking accommodation through apps
While boomers tend to rely on established hotel chains they can trust, millennials and Gen-Z are more comfortable booking spare rooms, treehouses and tiny rooms on platforms they may be using for the first time.
New technology, flexible work culture and shifting priorities have reshaped the global tourism landscape – leading to new habits that even older travellers are now adopting
Cooper described how her father’s go-to is the ‘same Holiday Inn chain’ he’s booked for the last 30 years, while she tends to book – without hesitation – random listings of accommodation with ‘good reviews’ and ‘seemingly legit’ photos.
This shift, she says, reflects a broader trust among younger people in crowdsourced reviews and online community ratings rather than through institutions and brand names.
Planning less and embracing spontaneity
Boomer travellers often arrive to their destination armed with detailed itineraries, printed confirmations and scheduled activities.
Millennials and Gen-Z, on the other hand, may land in a new country with only the first night’s stay booked.
For many young travellers, this flexibility leads to unexpected opportunities and connections Cooper says rigid planning cannot offer.
Working while travelling
For many, remote work blurred the line between a holiday and a day job, making extended travel possible in ways it never was for older generations.
Millennials now spend more time abroad by packing their laptops and logging on a thousand miles away – something that perplexes boomers who are used to separating vacations from work
Millennials can now spend more time abroad by packing their laptops and logging on from a thousand miles away – something that perplexes boomers who are used to separating vacations from work.
Cooper recalled how, during a recent trip to Mexico, she spent some time answering emails while relaxing at a beach – prompted her father to point out: ‘Isn’t the point of vacation to NOT work?’
However, she observed: ‘In his world, vacation meant two weeks off per year, completely disconnected from the office. You went somewhere, you relaxed, you came back.’
Though Cooper highlighted this can prevent holidaymakers from ‘being present’ while abroad, it still makes long-term travel accessible in ways previous generations never experienced.
Street food being a highlight – not a hazard
While older travellers may worry about food safety when buying from unfamiliar street vendors, millennials often see street stalls as essential cultural experiences.
But it’s not all risk, as Cooper says younger generations still research reviews and take note of vendor hygiene before consuming food from a potentially ‘questionable source.’
She added that travellers who dismiss all street food could be missing out on extraordinary culinary experiences and authentic local flavours.
While older travellers may worry about food safety when buying from unfamiliar street vendors, millennials often see street stalls as essential cultural experiences
Prioritising Instagram-worthy moments
Millennials are more likely to photograph colourful streets, scenic cafés or perfectly plated meals – not only for memories but also for online storytelling.
Though older travellers sometimes view this as unnecessary, Cooper argues that digital sharing has become a modern form of documenting travel, replacing physical photo albums with online galleries with quick and easy access.
Choosing experiences over souvenirs
Millennials are more likely to photograph colourful streets, scenic cafés or perfectly plated meals – not only for memories but also for online storytelling
According to Cooper, millennials spend more money on the likes of hiking tours, cooking classes and activities and less on physical keepsakes.
Meanwhile, boomers traditionally bring back fridge magnets and shot glasses as physical proof they’d been somewhere.
She also noted that many younger travellers, who tend to move homes more often, simply prefer memories over objects, as ‘accumulating stuff’ makes the move more difficult.
Travelling for personal growth
Perhaps the most confusing shift for boomer parents is the rise of travel as a tool for self-discovery and growth.
Millennials often take solo trips to reflect, reset or gain perspective, with Cooper recalling a time her father questioned the reason she was travelling to India.
He joked: ‘You’re going to India to find yourself? You know where you are – you’re right here.’
But, according to the seasoned traveller, younger generations see travel not just as leisure but as part of emotional and personal development.
