Travel is a priority for most, but life-stages dictate how we plan and the trips we take

NEEDHAM, Mass. – Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel guidance platform, today unveiled “Travel Through Life,” an insights-led report decoding the impact of life stage on travel habits, and outlining how brands can connect with consumers in meaningful ways.

The report uncovers unique insights and attitudes towards researching and booking travel from eight distinct life stage categories: college students, newly engaged/married, new parents, seasoned parents, career builders, established professionals, empty nesters, and retirees.

While the vast majority of total respondents are willing to spend on travel – how they fund, plan and book travel varies significantly by life stage.

Key findings include:

• Holiday splurging. Newly Engaged/Married couples are happy to treat themselves ready for their travels – 94% will buy new clothes and 88% new accessories for their trip. Similarly, Established Professionals will splash the cash, this time on dining (70%) and premium version products (45%). Meanwhile, Retirees are 50% more likely to spend over $10K on travel in the next year. ​
• Destination decisions. Where people like to travel differs greatly between groups. Established Professionals like to explore the world (71%), but beach locations trump the rest. Meanwhile 9 in 10 Empty Nesters gravitate towards holidays where they can unwind and take things slow. Retirees (51%) would like to take road trips domestically, while College Students seek memorable experiences most (61%).

We all know that travel preferences change as we age, but demographics are just part of the story. These insights provide an opportunity for brands to truly understand travel desires at every major life-stage, as well as how to influence these travelers along the journey. Given travelers in every life stage have high intent to travel and propensity to spend, brands that utilize these insights to shape content and marketing will position themselves for disproportionate growth with these lucrative audiences. Matt Dacey, VP Global Marketing, Tripadvisor

A summary of key findings by life-stage:

College students: This group wants to travel for experiences and rejuvenation in the next year. They are avid researchers, relying heavily on digital inspiration, reviews, and shared experiences on social media. But, 58% of college students rely on sources, like parents, to cover travel expenses.

New engaged/married: This group is more driven, with 50% prioritizing travel more than they did over the previous five years. Nearly two-thirds plan to go abroad within the next year and almost half (48%) are looking for unique and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

New parents: Despite being a challenge, 81% of new parents plan on traveling with their child, but unsurprisingly, they’re traveling less than any other group. At this stage, the most important factor when choosing accommodation is ‘family-friendliness,’ and 52% consider packing and transporting baby gear to be a significant hurdle.

Seasoned parents: One-third of these travelers share a common challenge: managing all the competing interests in their family. When it comes to spending, whether it’s due to more disposable income later in life, or a desire to have more meaningful experiences, they’re not afraid to spend more on travel.

Career builders: For career builders, R&R is the reason to travel as over half prefer a spa/retreat type of vacation and 65% travel for the beach. 53% fly premium economy, business or first class and they’re more likely to stay in mid-tier accommodations than budget ones.

Established professionals: This group is happy to spend—90% say they will splurge on one or more areas of travel, and 70% put dining (including restaurants, bars, delivery, and takeout) in their top three discretionary spending categories.

Empty nesters: With more discretionary income, 63% of empty nesters rank travel as one of their top three areas for spending. In fact, 73% plan on spending this time reconnecting with their partners/spouses. As they no longer have to worry about children, finding activities of personal interest is key.

Retirees: This group likes to go at their own pace, enjoying sightseeing, visiting nature and historic landmarks. 45% of retirees were more likely to cite health concerns as a barrier to travel, however, over half plan to stick to domestic travel only.

To access the full “Travel Through Life” insights report and explore the opportunities for brands, visit https://www.tripadvisor.com/travelthroughlife.

Tripadvisor surveyed 6,700 travelers between the ages of 18 and 75 across Australia, Germany, Japan, the US and the UK, who were planning on traveling in the next 12 months, in partnership with Qualtrics. This data, compiled in Q2 2024, was combined with GWI data from Q1 2024, focused on Tripadvisor users, as well as traveler interviews conducted through the Tripadvisor Community Board between May 6th and May 16th 2024.

About Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel guidance platform*, helps millions of people each month** become better travelers, from planning to booking to taking a trip. Travelers across the globe use Tripadvisor’s website and app to discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from those who have been there before. With more than a billion reviews and contributions, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants and discover great places nearby.

Tripadvisor LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP). The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. own and operate a portfolio of travel media brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps.

* Source: SimilarWeb, unique users de-duplicated monthly, November 2024
** Source: Tripadvisor internal log files