Gen Z travelers are avoiding overcrowded destinations

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Welcome back to Morning Consult’s new newsletter on young consumers: We’ll put the headlines you’re reading about Gen Alpha, Gen Z and millennials into context with our high frequency survey data to help you better understand exactly how they’re spending their time — and their dollars. 

Up first, a look at how sustainability is influencing young travelers’ vacation picks. 

✈️ Sustainability may steer Gen Z away from tourist hot spots 

Paris’ Eiffel Tower, London’s Big Ben and Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia are all incredibly popular tourist destinations. Yet these marquee landmarks could see less tourists in the future due to concerns about overtourism, the state where an excessive number of visitors to a destination becomes overwhelming and causes adverse effects. Especially from young Gen Z travelers who are most aware of the trend, and look to be changing their travel behaviors as a result. 

Nearly half (47%) of Gen Zers said they have seen, read or heard “a lot” or “some” about overtourism, 12 percentage points higher than the general population. Not only are Gen Zers aware of overtourism, but they look to be choosing different vacation picks as a result. 52% of Gen Zers said they have avoided travel destinations that are too crowded with tourists in the past year. Even more notable? Most Gen Zers are doing this specifically to be sustainable. 

This change in behavior could stand to benefit dupe destinations. For example, Gen Zers may head to Montreal to enjoy the French-influenced culture without the crowds of Paris, or book flights to Cambodia to soak up the sunshine when everyone else, inspired by The White Lotus season 3, is set-jetting off to Thailand. 

▶️ For more on how overtourism concerns are influencing travel behaviors, check out the entire analysis here. 

▶️ Visit our Travel and Hospitality Tracker for even more data on travel behaviors.

💻Podcasts capture ears, and eyes, of young consumers 

Podcasts are nothing new. In fact, the first podcast is about 20 years old. Yet the medium seems to be only getting better, and more popular, with age. 

One factor that could be contributing to the massive success (nine-figure distribution deals, presidential hopefuls as guests) of podcasts is the embrace of video. It’s now fairly commonplace for podcasters to upload video footage alongside their audio recordings, and consumers, especially Gen Z and millennials, appear to be enjoying it.

In some ways, the prioritization of visual media by podcasters was born out of necessity. Alongside the rise of TikTok, video has become the dominant language of the internet. As such, it is now a near-required supplement to any other kind of digital content, including audio — and many recent platform moves reflect this.

But video additions to podcasts don’t just improve experiences for existing listeners; they help reach new ones, too — primarily via social media clipping. Nearly half (45%) of U.S. adults report seeing clips of podcasts on social media, and a third (33%) find these clips to be more enjoyable than the standard social content they encounter, such as influencer posts. 

▶️ For more on why podcasts may be the new TV, check out the entire analysis here. 

▶️ Visit our Media and Entertainment Tracker for even more data on media consumption trends. 

What Else We’re Reading

The sandwich generation is stressed out, low on money and short on time (The Wall Street Journal)

A hedgehog, a centrifuge and other millennial life-improvement splurges (The New York Times)

Need holiday-shopping ideas? Gen Z and boomers both love this unlikely brand (Fast Company)

Carter’s rethinks its marketing, apparel and store design to appeal to Gen Z parents (Modern Retail)

TikTok is changing how Gen Z speaks (The Economist) 

Coming Up

11/13 Report: Influencer Marketing Trends. In this report, we dig into who’s following social media influencers, how trust in them is shifting and how these trends impact purchasing behaviors. 

11/19 Webinar: Influencer Marketing Trends. In this webinar, we discuss the most important social media influencer trends to help your brand ensure your efforts will land with your target audience. Click here to register.