There was once a time when booking a holiday meant flicking through travel brochures or spending hours comparing hotels on review sites. Now in 2026 many Gen Z travellers are jumping to the place they know and love for recommendations… TikTok.
I only need to look at my recent trip to Lisbon to see how much my own travel behaviour has changed. Before we’d even boarded the plane, me and my friends had shared countless TikToks of restaurants, tourist spots, coffee shops, and hidden gems we wanted to visit. It was almost a rarity to find somewhere by chance with no prior planning because we had so much insight ahead of time.
As someone who sits on the cusp of the Gen Z and Millennial border, I find it fascinating how social media now influences every stage of the travel journey. It’s no longer just about discovering destinations, it’s shaping how we experience them too.
For marketers, this shift is everything, and it comes back to the age old tale that people trust people. Genuine lived experiences are always the strongest form of recommendation, even if it comes from strangers on the internet. Being able to tap into the conversations and content that people are consuming should be a priority for marketers.
Travel inspiration turned entertainment source
One of the biggest changes in recent years is that people aren’t always actively searching for holiday inspiration anymore. It’s finding them instead.
You might open TikTok for a usual scroll and twenty minutes later you’ve somehow convinced yourself that you need to visit this specific boutique hotel in Mallorca, or spend a weekend exploring Copenhagen because someone posted a perfectly shot travel vlog.
That is the power of short-form content. It captures people when they’re not necessarily looking to buy anything. Then over time (supported by a very clever algorithm) you’re seeing the same location, hotel, or tourist hot spot, and the repeated exposure has built such a familiarity that it becomes the first choice when you’re ready to book a holiday.
This is something that traditional travel advertising often struggled to achieve, especially when it came to turning inspiration into action. Every hotel can hire the best photographers to showcase their 5 star suites, but it’s hard to capture a feeling or lived experience in a brochure or comparison site.
Holidays are becoming content opportunities
For younger travellers, holidays are no longer just about switching off and hiding from the world. They’ve become moments to document and share their experiences. Whether that’s a sunset picture on your Instagram story or an outfit of the day video on TikTok.
That’s not to say people are only travelling solely for the purpose of posting on social media, but it’s hard to ignore the role that content now plays in the overall experience. During my trip to Lisbon, it was completely normal for us to think about both the content we were consuming, as well as the content we wanted to capture. We factored in taking pictures on my digital camera and filming videos of our outfits, whilst also referring back to our long list of saved ‘must-visit’ videos.
What is interesting is we’re not being influenced directly by the travel brands but instead being influenced by other travelers. Everyone now has the potential to influence someone’s booking decision. An Instagram dump, a TikTok vlog, or even a simple restaurant recommendation shared to a few thousand followers can have a genuine impact on where people choose to spend their money.
For travel brands, this creates a special opportunity. The goal is no longer to just create an experience that people enjoy. It’s to create one that people want to share.
Why Gen Z trusts creators over brands
Gen Z has spent the entirety of their lives surrounded by advertising, especially on social media. They’re clued onto when they’re being sold to, and even more so when an advert or piece of content feels forced or inauthentic.
This is why User-Generated Content (UGC) and creator content often outperforms overly polished destination adverts. Seeing someone navigate the airport, review a hotel honestly, show the food they actually ordered, and admit when something wasn’t worth the money, feels far more genuine than a scripted promotional video.
The truth is that things don’t have to be flawless in order to be effective. Sometimes the imperfections are what builds trust, because content creators don’t benefit from whether you book that exact hotel, they just want to keep you engaged in their content.
Social media is becoming the new search engine
One trend that’s impossible to ignore is where Gen Z are searching for their travel recommendations. Instead of typing in “best restaurants in Lisbon” into Google, many people, including myself, head directly to TikTok for the answers.
This isn’t just exclusive to the travel industry, but it is one of the clearest examples of how search behaviour has changed. Rather than scrolling through endless reviews or booking sites, people want to see what it’s like from real people, not a marketing team. They want to see the food, the atmosphere, and whether they think somewhere is genuinely worth visiting.
It’s easy to see why social media has become the go-to travel guide for this generation. It combines inspiration, reviews, and often aesthetic visuals all in one place. For marketers, this shift means creating content that is not only engaging, but also discoverable too. Because if your audience is searching on TikTok, your strategy should reflect this too.
What this means for travel marketers
The role of travel marketers has changed dramatically. Creating beautiful imagery is no longer enough. Brands need to think about how their destinations will appear through someone's camera roll.
Designing experiences that people naturally want to share is the starting point. Whether that’s a hidden rooftop bar, a beautifully laid out hotel entrance, or a unique local experience, brands need to consider what will encourage travellers to take our their phones and capture the moment. Thinking social-first in wider decisions is critical.
It also means embracing User-Generated Content as part of the wider marketing strategy. Each guest has the opportunity to be a creator and influence decisions. Every photo in an Instagram dump and vlog on TikTok, has the potential to shape someone’s future trip away.
The brands that will succeed will be the ones that stop thinking about what they want to say, and start thinking about what other people want to share.
Final thoughts
Social media has absolutely changed the way we discover, research, and book holidays. And for Gen Z especially, the path from inspiration to booking often starts with videos on a feed rather than a travel website.
Influencers, creators, and everyday people have become some of the most trusted voices in the industry because they show their genuine lived experiences of discovering new places. While polished advertising still has an important role to play, social media fills a gap that traditional marketing often cannot.
For travel marketers, the opportunity is no longer just to sell a destination. It’s to become part of the story surrounding it. The brands that succeed will be the ones joining the conversations, embracing User-Generated Content, and building meaningful creator partnerships.
So next time you’re booking a holiday, ask yourself what’s inspired it all. You might be surprised.
How do you create something people want to share, not swipe past? Social media is a must-use tool for most marketers now, and CIM’s Social Media Principles training course can help you develop skills to use social channels more effectively and increase customer engagement.
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