AAA: Event Travel on the Rise with Younger Generations – exploreClarion

A new study from AAA and Bread Financial finds younger generations are driving a surge in live event travel.

Approximately three in five Gen Z (65%) and Millennial (58%) respondents confirmed they have traveled in the past 12 months and/or plan to travel in the next 12 months for in-person events like concerts, sporting events, comedy shows, and book readings that are more than 50 miles from home. This compares to 43% of Gen X and just 27% of Baby Boomers.

Going the Extra Mile and Spending the Extra Dollar
More than half (53%) of Gen Z travelers have or plan to head to live events by plane, the most of any generation, and are willing to go the extra mile, literally! Twice as many (18%) Gen Z travelers say they have or would be willing to go more than 1,500 miles – the distance of half of the continental United States – compared to only 9% of Baby Boomer travelers.

“Traveling to live events has become a preferred pastime for the younger generations,” according to Bevi Powell, senior vice president, AAA East Central. “Many Gen Z and Millennials consider the journey to be as enjoyable as the destination and are willing to spend more to attend their favorite sporting events, cheer for their favorite sports teams and enjoy their favorite artists in person. They simply don’t want to miss out on the experience of a lifetime.,” she added.

Younger generations spend the most for a good time, as nearly two in five Gen Z (37%) and Millennial (39%) travelers have spent between $500 and $5,000+ on tickets alone for destination live events. To afford this, approximately two in five Millennial (42%) and Gen Z (37%) travelers are willing to dip into their savings to pay for travel costs for a live event. About a third of those travelers would consider taking up a side hustle to pay for their event travel. The younger generations are also getting creative to cut costs with nearly half of Millennial and Gen Z travelers saying they already have or would travel internationally to score cheaper tickets.

Sports and Music Important to Gen Z Travelers 
The youngest generation is driving concert travel with more than half (52%) of Gen Z travelers planning to attend a music event in the next 12 months. Artists themselves can influence Gen Z’s travel habits as one in five travelers (20%) have traveled or plan to travel to a Taylor Swift concert.

Gen Z is also most likely to travel to some of the bigger sports events. Nearly two in five (38%) Gen Z travelers have traveled or are planning to travel for the 2025 Super Bowl, 32% have traveled or are planning to travel to the 2024 NBA finals, and 19% have traveled or are planning to travel for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

Must Go Due to FOMO
FOMO (fear of missing out) also plays a substantial role in influencing live event ticket purchases with more than one-third (34%) of all travelers admitting it played a role in their decision. While Gen Z travelers (54%) most often feel compelled to make event travel purchases based on FOMO, 83% of Baby Boomers say they resist such pressures. Additionally, younger generations (Gen Z – 44%, Millennials – 43%) emerge as the demographics most pressured into spending money on events they didn’t want to attend.

Top Destinations for Event Travel
More than three in four (79%) travelers are eager to head to their dream event location, with New York, Florida, and California being the most popular states and Las Vegas and Chicago the top cities. Travelers are also shaping their plans around famous event venues like Madison Square Garden (38%), Las Vegas Sphere (38%), and Radio City Music Hall (31%).

While at their destination, travelers want to take time to sightsee and explore before and/or after a live event with 62% noting they have included or are planning to bake in additional vacation time. Gen Z (72%) and Millennials (68%) lead the charge on extra time spent at a destination compared to Gen X (56%) and Baby Boomers (51%).

Often, travel expenses come with a hefty price tag because of skyrocketing event ticket prices. Top reasons for staying home differed between generations with Millennials most likely to skip an event due to an inability to take time off from work (37%), while Gen Z was most concerned about budget or debt worries (38%).

“While younger generations are driving the trend, this survey highlights the ways different generations are thinking about traveling to events and how they save for and spend around experiential moments in time,” said Nick Antonelli, chief marketing officer at Bread Financial. “These results show that while plenty of consumers are hitting the road for fun events, many are cognizant of their budgets, and being purposeful around achieving a healthy balance between managing their finances and desire to travel and attend live events.”

Survey Methodology
This was an online survey of 1,654 U.S. respondents 18+ who have traveled or are planning to travel for live event(s) in the past/next 12 months. The survey was conducted from March 5 to 8, 2024.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 70 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.