Millennials aged 29 to 44 are prioritising spending on holidays, increasingly booking holidays through a travel agent or expert, a Travel Counsellors survey found.
They are also leading the trend towards more sustainable and conscious travel choices.
Nearly half (46%) of millennials plan to spend more on travel in the next 12 months compared to the national average of 34%, with just 8% of millennials planning on spending less.
More than a third of the demographic (34%) prioritise saving for holidays, over saving for weddings or planning a family (8%).
The research among 2,000 adults found that 44% of millennials booked a holiday through a travel agent or advisor in the past 12 months, compared to a national average of 31%.
The top reasons include trusted/expert advice (50%), saving time (50%), a personalised service (39%) and someone to help and support if things go wrong or plans change (37%).
The study also revealed that 42% of millennials have avoided booking a destination due to concerns about overtourism or environmental impact, compared to the 28% national average.
Meanwhile, 62% of millennials claim to be more environmentally conscious when planning holidays compared to two to three years ago verses 42% of Gen X and baby boomers.
More than a third (35%) of millennials would pay extra for luxury accommodation while on holiday versus 21% of baby boomers.
The findings came as Travel Counsellors reported 10% year-on-year sales growth to a record £566 million for the six months to April 30.
The performance was supported by growing consumer demand for personalised, expert-led travel and the addition of 149 new travel advisors, taking numbers up to more than 2,206 at the period end.
This summer is also set to be another strong season with bookings across the July and August peak 11% ahead of the comparable time last year.
Travel Counsellors chief executive Steve Byrne said that younger travellers are placing an emphasis on richer, more individual travel experiences.
“These generations are increasingly values-driven, more environmentally conscious and most likely to seek out expert guidance and advice to help make the most of their travel,” he said.
“We’ve seen a rise in bookings from millennial customers in H1 with particularly strong growth in cruise and adventure travel.
“This demonstrates their preferences for premium and differentiated travel experiences.
“These are consumers who want more than just a holiday – they want peace of mind, personalised experiences, and meaningful, memorable journeys.”
Byrne said: “During the first half of the year we’ve continued to experience good growth across the business, which is once again a firm demonstration of the strength of our differentiated strategy and was underpinned by the record number of customers who trusted Travel Counsellors with their leisure and corporate travel needs.
“I am delighted that despite our transformational growth trajectory in recent years we have maintained our five-star Trustpilot rating. This is a strong testament to our customer-first culture that runs through everything we do.
“It’s for this reason that more than two thirds of our customers come to us through word-of-mouth referrals – which is a strong endorsement of the level of care we provide.
“We are focused on continuing to disrupt the travel market over the coming years through superb, personalised service and our scalable, relevant, and differentiated business model.”
