London, Sept. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gen Z is moving beyond using AI simply for ideas and increasingly trusting it to help make real holiday decisions, according to new research from Vision One Research.
Gen Z Travel Photo – Travel Brand Barometer 2026
The Travel Brand Barometer 2026 finds that 51% of Gen Z have already used tools such as ChatGPT to help plan a holiday, compared with 43% of Millennials, 23% of Gen X and just 9% of Baby Boomers.
But the research suggests the bigger shift may be in what younger travellers are prepared to trust AI with.
Gen Z trusts AI with the decisions behind the holiday
Among Gen Z, 42% say they would trust AI to help with booking advice, compared with just 22% of Baby Boomers.
The same proportion (42%) would trust AI for restaurant recommendations, compared with 32% of Baby Boomers.
Gen Z is also more open to using AI for flight selection, with 27% saying they would trust it to help, compared with 17% of Baby Boomers.
And while 26% of Gen Z would trust AI to help create an itinerary, this rises to 31% among Gen X and falls to 20% among Baby Boomers.
The findings suggest that younger travellers are not simply experimenting with AI. They are increasingly comfortable using it to shape the choices they make once the holiday idea already exists.
Tony Lewis, Managing Director at Vision One Research, said:
“What’s interesting about the AI findings is that this isn’t simply about people asking ChatGPT where they should go on holiday. It’s solving much more complex holiday logistics. This might be matching plans and itineraries with transfers, budgets and further stops.
“Younger travellers are increasingly comfortable using AI for decisions closer to the point of purchase – from booking advice and restaurant recommendations to choosing flights. This might even stretch to AI agents booking the entire process.
“That potentially changes the role AI could play in travel. If consumers begin to trust AI to narrow down their choices, recommend providers or shape an itinerary, brands will need to think about how they appear not just in search results, but in the recommendations generated by AI.”
TikTok is already changing where holiday inspiration starts
AI is only part of a broader change in how younger consumers approach travel.
Among Gen Z, 42% say TikTok influences their holiday decisions, compared with 37% for Google and 33% for Instagram.
For Baby Boomers, TikTok influences just 3%.
The contrast suggests that younger travellers may discover ideas for their next holiday through content and recommendations before actively searching for a destination.
A video of a restaurant, hotel, beach, activity, or destination can become the starting point for a trip – with AI then potentially helping turn that inspiration into a plan.
Gen Z is using a wider digital travel toolkit
The use of travel apps reinforces the breadth of the digital journey.
The research survey indicated that Uber has been used by 51% of Gen Z in the past 12 months, while 43% have used Jet2holidays, 41% Premier Inn, 39% Airbnb and 39% Trainline.
Booking.com has been used by 38% of Gen Z and 56% of Millennials, demonstrating that the growth of new digital tools is not simply displacing established travel platforms.
Instead, younger travellers appear to be combining different services across the journey; from discovering ideas on social media and using AI to plan, through to booking accommodation and transport and navigating the destination itself.
The travel funnel is becoming harder to predict
The findings point towards a travel journey that is increasingly fragmented across platforms, technologies, and stages of decision-making.
For travel brands, that creates a new challenge.
Being visible when a consumer searches for a holiday may no longer be enough. Brands may need to be discoverable when a traveller is scrolling TikTok, credible when an AI tool is asked for a recommendation and easy to find when the consumer moves through to booking.
Tony Lewis added:
“The traditional travel funnel assumed that consumers moved from inspiration to search to comparison and then booking in a relatively predictable way.
“For younger travellers, those stages are increasingly blurred. Inspiration might come from TikTok, planning from AI, booking from an established platform and the experience itself through a whole range of apps.
“For travel marketers, the question is becoming less about where the consumer searches and more about whether the brand is present and relevant throughout that journey.”
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Research methodology
Vision One Research conducted the Travel Brand Barometer 2026 research via an online survey of 3,000 UK consumers, with fieldwork in June 2026. Generational subgroup sample sizes are available on request.
About the Travel Brand Barometer 2026
The Travel Brand Barometer was developed by Vision One Research to explore the strength and direction of the UK’s leading travel and tourism brands, alongside the changing consumer behaviours shaping the sector.
It combines Vision One’s proprietary Brand Equity, Brand Strength and Brand Momentum metrics to identify both the brands leading today and those building potential for tomorrow.
About Vision One’s Travel and Leisure research services
Cover of Travel Brand Barometer – Vision One Research
About Vision One Research
Vision One Research is an award-winning UK market research agency delivering insight-led research for organisations across the UK, Europe and international markets. Its expertise spans brand tracking, audience and segmentation research, customer experience and thought leadership, providing B2B and consumer insight that helps organisations understand changing markets, audiences and customer needs.
Press Inquiries
Tony Lewis
tony [at] visionone.co.uk
https://visionone.co.uk
