Digital Natives on the Move: Cross-Cultural Insights into Generation Z’s Travel Preferences

Generation Z (Gen Z; born 1997–2012) is reshaping global tourism through digital fluency, ethical awareness, and a desire for authentic, sustainable travel experiences. This study surveys 413 Gen Z travelers across France, Portugal, Romania, and the USA to map their booking behaviors, information sources, transport modes, accommodations, dining practices, and leisure activities. The findings reveal a strong preference for independent online bookings and social-media-influenced destination choices (Instagram, TikTok), with air and car travel being used for long-distance journeys and walking/public transit being used for local journeys. Accommodation spans commercial hotels and private rentals, while informal, local dining and nature- or culture-centered leisure prevail. Chi-square tests were performed to identify differences between countries. To reveal distinct traveler segments and their country’s modulations towards sustainability, a hierarchical cluster analysis was performed. The results uncover four segments: “Tech-Active, Nature-Oriented Minimalists” (32.3% in France); “Moderate Digital Planners” (most frequent across all countries, particularly dominant among Romanian respondents); “Disengaged and Indecisive Travelers” (overrepresented in the USA); and “Culturally Inclined, Selective Sustainability Seekers” (>30% in France/Portugal). Although sustainability is widely valued, only some segments of the studied population consistently act on these values. The results suggest that engaging Gen Z requires targeted, value-driven digital strategies that align platform design with the cohort’s diverse sustainability commitments.