The travel planning playbook has been rewritten, and many marketers are still reading the old edition.
For Gen Z travelers, the journey doesn’t start with a Google search or a visit to a DMO website. It starts with a swipe. A saved TikTok. A creator showing what it actually feels like to spend a day somewhere new. By the time they’re searching on Google, the decision is already half-made.
This shift could have massive implications for how destinations and travel brands approach discoverability. The traditional funnel of awareness → consideration → booking is being compressed, reshuffled, and increasingly driven by platforms that reward authenticity over polish and moments over amenities.
We sat down with Bethany Bee, Digital Content Specialist at Explore Utah Valley, to unpack how Gen Z actually plans trips. Bethany brings a rare dual perspective: she runs social and influencer strategy for a DMO by day, and she’s traveled to six countries and ten states in the past year as a budget-conscious Gen Z explorer.
What emerged is a roadmap for destination marketers and really, any brand trying to reach younger audiences. From where to show up, what content actually drives action, and why your measurement strategy might be lying to you.
Give the podcast a listen, or tap into the actionable resources outlined below.
Is Social Media The Search Engine for Gen Z?
For Gen Z travelers, the trip starts on TikTok, not Google. The pattern is consistent: see a cool place on TikTok, save it, and plan the trip around it.
Trip planning for an international destination might look like opening TikTok, searching the city name, watching 15 videos, and building an entire itinerary from what surfaces. No browser required. Flight deals spark initial interest, but TikTok builds the actual plan.
Google still plays a role, but it’s shifted from discovery to validation. It’s where travelers confirm details, find addresses, or check hours for spots they’ve already decided to visit based on social content. Understanding how search behavior is evolving is key to staying visible online.
ChatGPT Isn’t a Trusted Travel Guide (Yet)
Despite the AI hype, Gen Z travelers aren’t turning to ChatGPT for travel recommendations. Testing it for local food spots often yields results that miss the mark: locations that aren’t nearby, recommendations that feel outdated, or suggestions that lack any sense of what’s actually worth visiting.
“ChatGPT is like a grandpa giving you recommendations who hasn’t been traveling for 30 years.” – Bethany Bee
AI tools that aggregate Reddit threads or help format pre-built itineraries are more useful. But the sourcing of recommendations still comes from real people sharing real experiences.
Authenticity Beats Polished Creative
The most trustworthy content looks real. It feels like someone genuinely filmed their trip and came back to share the highlights. The moment something looks like an ad or feels overly produced, trust drops.
Gen Z wants quick, digestible information. They want real experiences, not elevated productions. And they want to visualize themselves in the moment. Long vlogs detailing every thought from a trip get skipped. A quick hit showing what was cool and why? That gets saved.
The same principle applies to any content: just give people what they need. Nobody wants the life story behind a recipe. They want to know if it’s two sticks of butter or one. Building a strong approach to content development around how your audience actually consumes information is where strategy meets execution.
Gen Z Wants to Feel Like a Local
For any generation, there’s an underlying embarrassment about looking like a tourist. For Gen Z travelers it’s different. Many research what locals wear, follow local creators, and adjust their social feeds to surface location-specific content once they arrive. Some even change their appearance slightly before international trips just to blend in.
The desire is to feel like you’re living somewhere for a day, not just passing through with a camera. For DMOs, this means highlighting what’s actually buzzing locally rather than defaulting to the standard visitor guide. Day-in-the-life content performs well because it mirrors how travelers want to experience a place.
Budget Flights Afford Premium Experiences
Gen Z will take a cramped, budget flight if it means affording more destinations. The savings on travel get reinvested into experiences once they arrive, whether that’s a viral sandwich, a trendy restaurant, or a unique local spot that showed up in a feed.
Waiting in long lines for places that are trending on TikTok is part of the experience. Spending $22 on a hyped sandwich is worth it. But so is eating fast food on a different trip to conserve funds for bigger moments elsewhere.
For brands, this reframes the value proposition. It’s less about comfort and amenities, more about the moments worth capturing and sharing.
“If you’re not in the For You page, you’re not in the travel plan.” – Jason Dodge
Embrace The 48-Hour Traveler Mindset
Bethany shared that based off her experience, most Gen Z trips are short, typically two to six days. And planning often doesn’t happen until boots are on the ground. As long as there’s a flight and a place to stay, the rest gets figured out on arrival.
This creates real opportunity for smaller destinations and neighborhoods outside the city center. Gen Z travelers aren’t always staying in the most expensive areas, and they’re actively searching for “things to do near me” once they’re physically there. Being discoverable in those moments matters.
Itinerary Content Wins Over Category Content
DMO websites organized by “Arts & Culture,” “Restaurants,” and “Nature” can overwhelm decision-fatigued in many travelers. When someone is planning a trip, they want all of those things, but sorting through categories adds friction.
Curated itineraries work better. Posts like “How to Spend 48 Hours” with a few options at each time block are far more useful than scrolling through 50 museum listings. It gives travelers a starting framework they can customize without the cognitive load of building from scratch.
SEO Strategies Apply to Social Now
With Google pulling posts in from Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok functioning like its own search engine, thematic keywords and information rich captions matter more than ever. Hashtags have largely lost their relevance, but keyword-rich captions are driving discoverability.
Posts ranking in TikTok search aren’t necessarily the ones with the most likes. They’re the ones with strong hooks and clear keywording, like “15 things to do in Dublin” or “best food spots near West Village.” For marketers who’ve dismissed SEO as a social consideration, it’s time to reconsider.
Your Local Audience Is Your Best Amplifier
It might seem counterintuitive for a DMO to target locals, but there’s a compelling case for it. Local followers are the most motivated engagers. When they interact with content, it gets pushed into the Explore page and served to users outside the area.
“Your local audience are your ambassadors. They push your content into the Explore page, which is then not local anymore.” — Bethany Bee
Rather than worrying about local-heavy follower demographics, lean into it. Those followers are doing the algorithmic work of expanding reach. A strategic approach to organic social can turn local engagement into broader reach.
Repurpose Content Relentlessly
People see an estimated 10,000+ pieces of content daily. They’re not going to remember a fall scenic drive post from last year.
The same video clips can be reused across multiple posts, sometimes within weeks of each other. Seasonal content should be repurposed year after year. If it performed well, there’s no reason to retire it. The key is staying ahead of the calendar. By October, Christmas bucket lists should already be pinned. By August, fall content should be in full swing.
For resource-strapped teams, this is permission to stop reinventing the wheel. Archive footage, proven formats, and evergreen clips should all be in regular rotation.
Measure Digital Marketing Success in Layers
Attribution is hard, and impressions alone don’t tell the full story. A layered approach that combines social engagement metrics, website conversions, and geolocation data provides a clearer picture of actual visitation.
In some cases, a post performs so well that it drives a measurable spike in foot traffic. But the reverse is also true: a campaign can look successful based on impressions and engagement while deeper data reveals visitors aren’t actually spending money in that part of the destination. Surface metrics would keep that campaign running. The full picture tells a different story.
Actionable Steps for DMOs and Travel Brands
- Prioritize TikTok and Reels for discovery. This is where trip planning starts for Gen Z.
- Create snackable, itinerary-based content. “48 hours in [Destination]” with options beats exhaustive category lists.
- Lead with authenticity. Real, unpolished content builds more trust than high-production ads.
- Optimize captions for search. Keywords matter on social platforms now. Think SEO for your TikToks.
- Engage your local audience. They’re your content amplifiers. Let them push you into new feeds.
- Repurpose seasonal content. Plan ahead, reuse what works, and don’t overthink freshness.
- Layer your measurement approach. Combine social metrics, web analytics, and geolocation data to tell the full story.
- Lean into your niche. Birdwatching towns, Dungeons & Dragons stores, quirky motels. Own what makes you different.
- Don’t abandon Google. It’s still used for validation. Make sure your information is accurate and up to date.
- Test relentlessly. Try different content formats, influencer tiers, and platforms. Double down on what works.
Ready to rethink your destination marketing strategy? Let’s connect. No buzzwords, no guarantees. Just an honest conversation. Schedule a time to talk.
Additional Resources
[listen] TikTok Travel Ads – Turning Inspiration Into Bookings
[listen] AI Optimization: Separating Hype from Reality on The Redirect Podcast
[read] Digital PR + SEO: A Match Made For Modern Marketing
[read] Oceanside Tourism Destination Saw an 819% Increase in Search Impressions
