Young travellers are looking for “meaningful experiences” when booking their trips and are less interested in hedonism than they were 20 years ago, according to research from student specialist STA Travel.
The agency chain, which operates 53 shops in the UK and celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2019, found that gap years and round-the-world airline tickets “continue to be as popular as ever”.
But now younger holidaymakers are now more interested in experiential travel, “voluntourism” and animal welfare projects, rather than just enjoying themselves.
This is demonstrated by the fact that 90% of the 10,000 STA customers surveyed for the inaugural Youth Travel: Past, Present and Future report say they would consider volunteering while travelling.
The research also finds that the issue STA Travel clients feel “most passionate” about is mental wellbeing (73%). This was followed by human rights, climate change, animal welfare and gender equality.
