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 with 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 over-indexing 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 percent year-over-year
- Madrid: +47 percent
- Barcelona, Spain: +38 percent
- San Diego: +34 percent
- Lima, Peru: +116 percent
- Rio de Janeiro: +92 percent
- Lisbon, Portugal: +78 percent
Spending Habits of Gen Z Travelers
While millennials tend to spend nearly identically to the overall average traveler (splashing about $1,225 versus 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 percent, but buys travel protection at barely half the rate of baby boomers (11.7 percent versus 20.4 percent).
“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. They don’t mind traveling farther, where their dollars stretch more, for less time, and they hit the ground running once they land.”
Copyright 2026 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
