74% of millennials & Zoomers: travel non-negotiable
A 2026 American Express report found that 74% of millennials and Gen Z consider travel non-negotiable.
Snapshot · The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
No Mercy / No Malice: World Cup Experience
Explore episode
Jun 27, 2026
Where this was said
Digital Atomization and the Revenge Travel Boom
At 4:30 · chapter starts 3:15
Pine and Gilmore wrote in 1998, the same year Google was founded, and couldn't have anticipated how digital technologies would atomize society and make in-person contact scarce. The pandemic supercharged this dynamic. When COVID restrictions lifted in 2021, consumers embraced revenge travel — a term defined by an American Society of Travel Advisors spokesperson as the YOLO conviction that 'life is short, I want to experience the world.' That attitude has persisted, particularly among the young. A 2026 American Express report found that 74% of millennials and Gen Z consider travel non-negotiable, and two-thirds would accept fewer job benefits for more travel flexibility [1] — George Hahn "74% of millennials and Gen Z consider travel non-negotiable, and two-thirds would sacrifice job benefits for more flexibility to travel. Th…" 04:20 . Galloway frames this not purely as optimism but as a structural response to scarcity: young people are spending on experiences partly because traditional wealth-building assets like homes are increasingly out of reach.
Young People Are Choosing Experiences Over Homes
74% of millennials and Gen Z consider travel non-negotiable, and two-thirds would sacrifice job benefits for more flexibility to travel. This isn't just YOLO spending — it reflects the reality that traditional asset purchases like homes are increasingly out of reach.
Australia's Social Media Ban and the Digital Backlash
In 2025, Australia became the first country to ban social media for anyone under 16. By 2026, 13 more countries are taking similar steps. Galloway sees this regulatory pushback as an accelerant to the IRL experience boom.
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