'N95 mask and hand sanitizer at the ready': The COVID-19 pandemic affects the future of Gen Z travel

Clarissa Fisher, 23, is nowhere near ready to hop on a plane. She used to fly regularly to visit her boyfriend in the U.K.

"This past week, I have seen so many people return to their normal activities like nothing has happened," says Fisher of Frankfort, Kentucky. "This scares me and has made me reconsider my travel plans for the remainder of this year and possibly the next. I'm afraid to board a plane, knowing that I might step off infected. Being trapped in a small space with a large amount of strangers for several hours is a pandemic nightmare scenario."

Like others in her generation, she's grown up with crisis after crisis: From 9/11 to devastating school shootings to COVID-19, this generation, born after 1996, is used to living in dangerous times. This generation is primed to handle crisis after crisis and will adapt to extra safety precautions.

Thirty-five percent of 18- to 34-year-olds don't plan on going on vacation this year, according to a Morning Consult online poll last month commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association – though 27% have taken a non-business trip, including an overnight stay, since March.

Members of Generation Z will approach travel differently by being much more cautious about stepping on a plane, washing their hands frequently and otherwise mitigating risks, concerned for their families and themselves.

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𝗠𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧-𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗘 (𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗) 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 ☀️ [SAVE + SHARE] ⠀ If you’ve been watching my IG stories (now an IG highlight) you’ve seen that I’ve been taking a road trip from D.C. through the South through Savannah, GA to Florida. i.e. COVID-capital of the U.S. 🙃 If I wouldn’t have seen it myself I’m not sure I would believe how lax people are being. Huge crowds with no masks, people sharing bucket drinks… The delusion. And I feel like influencers aren’t talking about it enough so 🗣🗣🗣 ⠀ 74% of you voted and said you might be open to travel this summer in certain circumstances, so here are some things we’ve done to stay as safe as possible: ⠀ 😷 Wearing a mask at ALL times when there are people around. There were a few times on a windy rooftop and park that we took them off because no one else was within 50 feet of us, but otherwise 😷 ⠀ 🚙 Driving. We packed snacks and drove from D.C., stayed in a hotel, and then drove down to Florida. Minimal stops except to use the bathroom, hand sanitizer and wipes on deck. ⠀ 🏠 Hotel or Airbnb? We’ve done both one this trip BUT only after research. The hotel we stayed at every staff member wore masks, there were social distancing policies for elevators, social areas, house cleaning, and even bags on the TV remotes. Our Airbnb had visible COVID-19 precautions shared in the listing and requires 1-week vacancy between stays to diminish chances of transmission. So, yeah I’m here, with a week’s worth of groceries, quarantined in paradise for the next week, with plans of canoeing, reading, and floating in the pool 😭💗 ⠀ It is a little anxiety inducing because nothing is 100% and it’s sad we can’t explore the area more but we’re taking as much precaution as possible. And still, all I can say is… BABY I’VE MISSED YOU 🌍⛱🏕 ⠀ P.S. Curious about my swimsuit? Wellll it’s not 😂 Swipe right. I was a little excited to be here 😅

A post shared by Gabby Beckford, Gen Z Travel (@packslight) on Jun 23, 2020 at 8:55am PDT

'A worried generation'

Ann Fishman, a marketing expert who specializes in generational targeting, defines Gen Z as those born from 2001 to 2019 – though models differ on this. Pew Research Center marks Gen Z beginning at 1996 with no end point yet.

Fishman says this generation has never lived without terrorism, since the attacks Sept. 11, 2001. "For all of their lives, they have been a worried generation quite different from millennials," Fishman tells USA TODAY.

"There’s a certain amount of self-reliance that is within these younger generations, that they do have to take care of themselves because they feel like the adults have let them down," she says.

She says they will be more inclined to stay in hotels that offer good deals and with cleanliness standards that make their parents and grandparents feel comfortable. They will go camping and "glamping" (camping with upscale amenities) because those will be safer environments.

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As of the week of June 8, Generation Z, millennials and travelers in the South were the most excited about travel in the next month and were open to travel inspiration, according to Destination Analysts, a travel and tourism market research firm.

Their enthusiasm may be tempered by COVID-19 surges in more than a dozen U.S. states, including California, Florida, Texas, Arizona and Georgia, pushing the country's total number of cases close to the 2.9 million mark as of Monday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

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This group will turn to their friends to check on their travel habits, according to Fishman. Ninety-five percent of 13- to 17-year-olds have smartphone access, according to Pew, and 72% of teens use Instagram. Teens have fake Instagram accounts called "finstas" where they share posts with friends they don't want the general public to see.

“If they go to the trouble to have two Instagram accounts – my public face and my private face – and they only trust their friends to reveal their innermost thinking, then they’re looking for that in travel," Fishman says.

Generations may not be so different, given that everyone is dealing with the pandemic. Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica's minister of tourism, says all generations are morphing into one: Generation COVID.

"I think that what we’re seeing emerging now is more of a merger of all the previous demographics," Bartlett tells USA TODAY, explaining that destinations will have to show they are COVID-resistant to meet the health security needs of travelers.

Fishman says there are nuances to each generation's reactions to COVID-19 and the future of travel. Gen Zers will take all precautions to keep themselves safe and their families assured that they're doing so.

Baby boomers, by contrast, "haven't seen their grandchildren in a long, long time" and "are torn between being afraid of getting coronavirus and tired of putting their lives on hold," Fishman says. "Look for them to take safe travel ... cruise lines with great cleanliness records before coronavirus regulations or family trips to the great outdoors where social distancing isn’t hard."

Fishman says millennials have a more laissez-faire attitude about the virus; therefore, it won't have as much of an impact on their travel plans.

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Fishman says Gen Z isn't typically afraid of flying (doing safety research before traveling), but several members of the generation tell USA TODAY they aren't inclined to do so at present.

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Fisher would prefer to stay with friends or family if she traveled; if she couldn't do so, she probably wouldn't go on the trip. The data bears this out: 48% of 18- to 34-year-olds said they were more likely to stay with family or friends for their next vacation, according to the Morning Consult poll in June.

The pandemic has upended Fisher's dating life, too.

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"It has been three months since I have seen my boyfriend in the U.K., who I usually see every six weeks," she says. "I'm also apprehensive to fly to Scotland this August to start my graduate studies. If I do, I will have my N95 mask and hand sanitizer at the ready."

Fishman says this will be the new routine: to wash hands at all times, wear a mask at certain times and social distance.

"I don't ever think that I'll look at traveling the same for a long time, if ever," says Alexis Fox, 21, of San Francisco. "As time goes on, I think I might relax a little, but I think sanitizing frequently and wearing masks on planes might be a permanent thing for me."

Gabby Beckford practically forgot there was a pandemic on her weeklong road trip in late June. Relaxing in the pool at her Cape Coral, Florida, Airbnb was a welcome moment of respite.

"Being able to be in the direct sun, outdoors, listening to the sound of that water, I could completely forget that the pandemic was happening for the first time in months," the 24-year-old Gen Z travel blogger from Fairfax, Virginia, tells USA TODAY. "It was our own world."

That's not to say Beckford isn't taking the pandemic seriously. "I'm definitely in the part of Gen Z that is taking the pandemic seriously and not hanging out with friends or going out without wearing my mask," she says.

Beckford and her mother were careful to avoid major areas and create their quarantined vacation in Florida, favoring an escape to another home instead of gallivanting out and about. Perhaps that's a model for this generation going forward, she says.

"The pandemic has me rethinking travel, and I won't be traveling like before for the foreseeable future," she says. "But I think with some sacrifices and care, it could be somewhat possible."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19: How the pandemic affects the future of Gen Z travel