Wholesome holiday trend sees Gen Z shunning breaks loved by Millennials & Gen X

MOST youngsters’ first holidays with friends involve a boozy jaunt to a Greek or Spanish island, or staying in hostels on a backpacking adventure.

However, Gen-Z are bucking the trend by picking much more wholesome trips, where alcohol isn’t the primary focus.

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A report by UK staycation company Sally’s cottages found that younger Brits are more likely to pick bikes over booze, with outdoor activities seen as more important than getting drunk.

From a survey of 1,000 Brits, Sally’s learnt about the types of outdoor recreation that holidaymakers engage in and the areas around Britain that they like to head to.

The answers threw up some surprising results, none more so than the fact that 18–24-year-olds are more than twice as likely to swap drinking staycations for outdoorsy holidays.

The most popular outdoor activities for the demographic included hiking and walking for fitness, running, jogging or trail running and road biking, mountain biking or BMXing.

Active holidays aren’t only popular among the younger generations, though.

It turns out that the biggest priority for holidaymakers aged 18-44, is the availability of outdoor recreation activities.

More than a quarter of all who responded said that they wanted to be near spots that had plenty of outdoor recreation spots and activity centres.

Hiking and walking, wildlife watching, beachcombing, running and biking were among the overall favourite activities.

Meanwhile, for those aged 55+, the quality of the local restaurants matters most for those booking a staycation.

When it came to destinations, there was a clear favourite among respondents, with more than 25 per cent picking the Lake District as their favourite place to go.

Devon came second with 20 per cent, while Cornwall, the Peak District and the East of England were next on the list.

Sarah Pring, Digital PR Manager at Sally’s Cottages, said: “We conducted this survey to get a better look into the holiday habits of Brits, and what we found was that, unsurprisingly, they were most likely to flock to the Lake District.

“As one of the most serene and beautiful areas of the UK, it’s little wonder that it attracts so many staycationers, with so many amazing walking routes, top-quality restaurants, and, most importantly, comfortable and stylish accommodation for them to stay in.” 

Active holidays aren’t the only breaks that are surprisingly popular among Gen-Z, with all-inclusive deals also a big hit.

Psychotherapist Anna Mathur is one of those people who prefers an all-inclusive break and she explained the appeal of it to her and to other young people.

She told Hello!: “in our fast-paced society, stress levels are higher than ever. The juggle is intensified by rising costs of bills and childcare, challenged work-life boundaries and little down-time for rest and recovery.

“Therefore it’s understandable that we crave to step off the treadmill of day-to-day life. All-inclusive holidays offer valuable respite for overwhelmed brains, and time to exhale and reconnect.”

Meanwhile, youngsters are also a lot more likely to pick experiences further afield than typical boozy holidays.

And a new UK tour operator has promised to disrupt the all-inclusive market with new package holidays.

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