Young travellers are no longer thumbing through glossy brochures or browsing travel agent shop windows to map out their adventures. Instead, social media travel content has revolutionised the way they plan and execute their trips—one ‘like, comment, follow’ at a time. From Instagram profiles filled with dreamy landscapes to TikTok videos offering real-time tips, online platforms are reshaping the dynamics of tourism.
According to a study by Adobe, 1 in 10 Gen Z TikTok users now turn to TikTok as a search engine, favouring short-form, visually engaging content over traditional browsers like Google. Sixty percent of Gen Z TikTok users say they’ve visited new destinations after discovering them on the platform. This shift highlights how content creation is transforming travel planning and how deeply social media influences the choices of young people.
Katie Groves, a 22-year-old Masters graduate in Developmental Psychology from Liverpool Hope University, runs a TikTok and Instagram travel brand, GrovesTrotting, which she created in 2022. After navigating South East Asia and an Australian interrail, she’s currently working a Christmas season in Lapland before heading to South America in the new year. For Katie, social media is about more than just showcasing picturesque destinations—it’s about sharing authentic experiences, both good and bad.
I don’t even care who sees it—I just enjoy making my platform,” Katie told me, sitting at her desk after a day of working in a high school to save for her 2025 travel goals. “Posting empowers me and inspires me to travel again and again. Social media has changed a lot because of influencers. Especially on TikTok, people make a video, and if it does well, others want to recreate it to go viral too. Every third video feels like something you’ve seen before. I want GrovesTrotting to be about me—what I’m doing, enjoying, and experiencing—rather than just ‘this is what you need to do.’”
Katie’s use of social media for travel reflection is an appealing cornerstone of travel content consumption and isn’t uncommon. For Rosie McKenna, her Instagram serves as a digital diary to document her growth while solo travelling. Nearly 75% of Gen Z travellers planned to take a solo trip in 2024, a figure that has doubled since 2022. The ‘#solotravel’ tag on Instagram has reached a staggering 7.9 million posts.
So what’s the appeal?
“Independence,” says Rosie McKenna. A third-year Politics and History student at Newcastle University, Rosie has spent the last six years balancing solo travel with her degree, documenting her adventures on her Instagram, @my.unique.lens. “I like being independent, going out and finding stuff by myself. I like getting lost and finding my way. When solo travelling, you experience so much growth that it is hard to explain to somebody who has never done it.”
Rosie describes her blog as a space to document her travels and reflect on her journey. “Even now, when I look back on my posts, I can see the growth in my personality and how I approach things,” she says. But her blog has proved to be more than a creative outlet; it’s also been a source of support during tough times on the road.
“I remember arriving at a hostel in Budapest that was an absolute nightmare. I felt really low. But when I posted about it, I received around 30 messages of encouragement from my followers. It made me think, ‘I can do this.’”
As solo travel surges in popularity, with a 7% increase in Gen Z’s interest in solo travelling between 2023 and 2024, content creators continue to inspire others and build communities. Dr Pau Obrador Pons, an Assistant Professor of Tourism and Events Management at Northumbria University, acknowledges that what was once a solitary pursuit for seasoned travellers is now part of a well-connected community.
”There are new things that suggest solo travel has become easier,” Dr Obrador Pons says. “Social media has, in many ways, made solo travel less ‘solo’. When you travel, you are always contactable, you can always be in contact back home. You are never really alone.
“Apps nowadays, like TikTok, are tools to contact other people like you and create a community on the go. So in that respect, solo travel has changed form and made it a bit easier in the current climate.”
With a study by TravelPerk revealing that 88% of Gen Z follow at least one travel influencer, the influence of social media on travel shows no signs of slowing down after garnering a 410% increase in consumption in 2023. However, with travel trends evolving rapidly, the uncertainty of what next year’s statistics might reveal is a reminder of how dynamic the industry has become. From shifting preferences for solo travel to the rising appeal of off-the-beaten-path destinations discovered through viral videos, the future of tourism remains unpredictable—how will social media continue to redefine the way we explore the world?