New research shows that a majority of young people prefer a more low-key trip abroad, with some rejecting the notion of a party holiday entirely.
Holidays for 18-to-30 year olds have traditionally been the stuff of infamy, with young people heading to party spots like Magaluf and Ayia Napa, often to drink to excess and dance until the sun comes up.
Today, though, party holidays are on the brink of extinction, as Gen Z opts for a more sedate pace of life, tending to favour trips that provide culture, attractions and experiences.
A new survey, of 1,000 18-to-32 year olds, has laid bare the fact that many young people simply prefer different kinds of holidays to their predecessors in 2024.
The study, by airport parking provider SkyParkSecure, discovered that not only would 46 per cent of those asked prefer to holiday with family as opposed to friends, but only 5 per cent would go on a party holiday.
Is the party holiday officially dead?
According to The Travel Association (ABTA), 60 per cent of young British people took a foreign holiday over the last 12 months, but their destinations and experiences have shifted.
Cast your mind back to the 1990s and 2000s and a party holiday was nothing short of a rite of passage.
Today, the research found that only a small proportion – just 14 per cent – consider the number of good bars and clubs in the area they’re travelling to as the deciding factor when choosing where to stay.
Twenty-three-year-old Tom, who lives in Manchester, is a case in point.
He’s a keen traveller, and has been abroad three times in the last year – but none of his locations were chosen for their boozy clubs and bars.
“In the last year I’ve visited Dublin, New York and Lisbon, and I’m hoping to book Greece next,” he told SkyParkSecure. “I’ve always loved a city break since I was 18 and fell in love with it ever since I went Interrailing. It was cheap and allowed you to visit so much of Europe.”
Although Tom does favour travelling with friends, they all prefer to visit cultural cities such as Lisbon, rather than party hotspots.
Gen Z values culture over hangovers
“I’ve never done a cheap party holiday such as Zante, and I don’t plan to,” adds Tom. “I loved going out when I was a student, but with holidays I just rather spend my money on visiting a city full of history, my first break at 18 was Prague. This is much preferred over a tacky resort which I’d spend all my time in being hungover.”
Like Tom, it seems like the younger the respondee, the more opposed they are to party trips.
Of the 23 per cent who said they would never choose to visit a place that’s known for its partying, it was 18-to-25 year olds who dominated that statistic.
The older group surveyed appear far more receptive to such a holiday, with 36 per cent of those who have taken a party holiday previously saying they would repeat the experience.
Among these respondents’ favourite places were Ibiza and Zante, although both were preferred by 26-to-32 year olds as opposed to the group of 18-to-25s.
What do young people want from a holiday now?
Perhaps unsurprisingly given these findings, it’s relaxing holidays which are now favoured by young people.
Twenty-three per cent of those asked prefer a beach holiday, with 10 per cent plumping for a romantic trip away or an adventure holiday and 9 per cent enjoying a city break.
But what do they want when they arrive at their destinations?
Forty per cent agreed the weather is a top factor, followed by the price, with 36 per cent considering that most important.
That’s despite three in 10 young people using credit cards to pay for their holidays in 2024.
On average, they’re spending £750 (about €892) on a trip, with 65 per cent saying they take money out of their savings to fund a holiday.
For one in 10 young adults, splashing out is the preferred way to take a trip; that number will spend over £2,000 (around €2,380) on a single break abroad.
Regardless of the price of a trip, 29 per cent of young people say they tend to decide their location based on the number of famous landmarks.
While TikTok is used as a tool by many for travel inspiration, it isn’t as popular a resource as you might think.
In fact, just over a quarter of young people use the app for holiday planning. Instead, 45 and 31 per cent respectively use websites and TripAdvisor to research holidays, much like the generations before them.
Another thing they have in common with older people is an increased desire to travel solo, with 14 per cent of people surveyed saying they were planning a trip alone.
It seems the party holiday is – very nearly – dead. Long live serene sojourns.
