Gen-Z Now Choose All-Inclusive Holidays More Than Boomers, Survey Reveals
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All-Inclusive Holidays Are Now Most Popular With Gen-Z, Not Boomers
A survey of 1,050 British holidaygoers explores the popularity of the all-inclusive holiday and finds out if the “fly and flop” stereotype still rings true.
Radical Storage surveyed 1,050 British holidaygoers about their experiences on all-inclusive holidays (compared to other holiday types) to find out what makes them so popular.
Boozy Brits Abroad
In our recent tourist-syndrome survey, we found that 53.1% of respondents admitted to drinking more alcohol on holiday. Binge-drinking on holiday is a common bad habit, and in response, several popular Spanish resorts have introduced a three-drink-per-night limit for tourists.
Often, though, all-inclusive resorts offer customers “unlimited” food and drinks, including cocktails. This doesn’t necessarily guarantee you an infinite supply of margaritas, as there may be limits, like times of day you can and can’t drink.
Still, this temptation of unlimited booze is the winning factor for many. When asked whether they thought all-inclusive holidays were only worth the money if they planned on drinking lots of alcohol, 58.3% of respondents said yes.
Sampling the local cuisine is a holiday highlight for many. Only 3.9% of respondents said there was no chance of them trying local foods whilst on an all-inclusive holiday, and only 2.7% said there was no chance of this on other types of holiday.
However, considering that catering is often part of the package, 12.3% of respondents said they would never eat at a local restaurant on an all-inclusive holiday compared to 3.5% on other holiday types. Taking all answers into consideration, someone staying in an all-inclusive hotel or resort ate at a local restaurant almost half as often as someone not on an all-inclusive holiday.
Who is going on all-inclusive holidays?
Overall, the majority (80.6%) of respondents said that they had been on an all-inclusive holiday (where all meals, drinks, and activities were included in the price). However, some demographics were far more likely than others to have been on this kind of trip.
Digging into the demographics, despite having had less life experience, Gen-Z (aged 18-28) were still the most likely to have taken an all-inclusive trip (91.3%). This is 28.7% greater than the rate of Boomers (aged between 61-79), who were the least likely to have been on this type of getaway (62.6%).
One argument why package and all-inclusive holidays have found appeal with younger audiences is the influence of shows like Love Island. The popular dating-reality show, where competitors are filmed living in a luxury, catered villa for six to eight weeks, has partnered with Jet2 holidays since 2022 (a provider of package holidays). And interest continues to grow. Since April 2024, Google searches for “Jet2Villas holiday” have increased by 414%.
Wealth, luxury, and the all-inclusive experience
The White Lotus – the Emmy-award-winning HBO series – pulled in an audience of around 18 million for its third season. Every season is set in a different luxury resort or hotel, and interest in the venues featured in the show has skyrocketed. For example, in April 2025 (the month of the 3rd season finale) to a year prior, Google searches for “Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui” (one of the principal filming locations in Thailand) had increased by 1,019%.
The findings of the survey also reflect that all-inclusive holiday packages are more popular with wealthier demographics. There was an almost perfect positive correlation between a respondent’s income and the likelihood they had been on an all-inclusive holiday. The most likely (97.6%) to have been on an inclusive holiday were those who earned between £100,000 and £124,999. Meanwhile, the lowest income earners (those earning less than £10,000 annually) were the least likely to have been on an all-inclusive trip (58.6%).
Bucking the recent trends seen in pop culture (for example, in Love Island and The White Lotus), 30.4% of Gen-Z respondents considered it a five-out-of-five luxury experience.
Fly and flop? What really happens on an all-inclusive holiday
As explored in our study on the world’s most stressful destinations, navigating your way around a new environment can be anxiety-inducing. All-inclusive holidays are convenient: the stresses of finding and booking your own accommodation and the logistics of getting there are taken off your plate.
We asked respondents to rate out of 10 (with 10 being the most likely) how likely they were to do various things on holiday. We also asked respondents to estimate how many days per week they would engage in different activities.
| Likelihood of activities/outcomes on an all-inclusive getaway compared to other holiday types | |||
| Activity/outcome | Likelihood on an all-inclusive holiday out of 10 | Likelihood on a non-all-inclusive holiday out of 10 | Difference |
| Leave feeling relaxed and recharged | 7.1 | 6.9 | -0.2 |
| Eat more than you would normally at home | 6.4 | 5.7 | -0.7 |
| Eat local foods/dishes | 6.1 | 6.4 | +0.2 |
| Drink more alcohol than you would normally at home | 6.0 | 5.4 | -0.7 |
| ‘Dress up’ for dinner | 5.8 | 5.2 | -0.6 |
| Go on a day trip beyond the local area/city | 5.6 | 5.9 | +0.4 |
| Learn and use words of the local language | 4.5 | 4.9 | +0.4 |
| Make a friend(s) | 4.2 | 3.9 | -0.3 |
| Have a romantic interest | 2.8 | 2.6 | -0.2 |
Besides asking how likely (out of 10) a respondent was to participate in a certain activity, the survey also sought to quantify the number of times per week that holiday goers engaged in the different activities (e.g., on 2.4 days of a week-long holiday, someone on an all-inclusive holiday ate at a local restaurant, compared to other types of holiday where it was 4.4).
| Average number of days per activity (on a one-week holiday) | |||
| Activity | Days on a non-all-inclusive holiday | Days on an all-inclusive holiday | Difference |
| Eat at a local restaurant | 4.4 | 2.4 | 2 |
| Go outside of your resort/accommodation | 5.1 | 3.4 | 1.7 |
| Explore local culture (museum, tours, etc.) | 3.6 | 2.9 | 0.7 |
| Explore attractions or landmarks | 3.7 | 3 | 0.7 |
| Spend time in nature | 3.3 | 2.7 | 0.6 |
| Exercise | 2.5 | 2.3 | 0.2 |
Socialising and engaging with the local culture
The phrase “beach, nap, shower, dinner” has 25.3 million posts on TikTok, and getting ready for a nice meal after a long day lazing in the sun is many tourists’ idea of complete bliss. Getting dressed up for dinner on a holiday – and maybe even posting a “couples fit check” on social media – is part of the fun. The survey found that you were more likely to do this if you were on an all-inclusive holiday (5.8) than on a non-all-inclusive holiday (5.2).
If socialising with others is something you look forward to on holiday, then an all-inclusive holiday is also a better option. You were slightly more likely to leave having made a friend (4.2 compared to 3.9) and even had higher odds of a holiday romance (2.8 compared to 2.6).
But what about engaging with the local culture and stepping out of your comfort zone?
Around 16.1% of all-inclusive holiday goers said they only left their resort once or not at all during a typical seven-week stay, which is twice as high as those on other types of holiday. Overall, the average number of days per week someone on an all-inclusive holiday leaves their resort/accommodation site is 3.4 days per week.
| Time spent going outside the accommodation | ||
| Time spent | On an all-inclusive holiday* | On a non-all-inclusive holiday** |
| 0 days/not at all | 3.2% | 2.0% |
| 1 day/once | 12.9% | 5.5% |
| 2 – 3 days/a few times | 47.6% | 22.1% |
| 4 – 6 days/very often | 22.3% | 23.3% |
| 7+ days/every day of my trip | 14.0% | 47.1% |
| Average amount in days | 3.4 | 5.1 |
Only a minority of guests on an all-inclusive holiday (5.9%) reported spending no time engaging with or learning about the local culture (such as visiting a museum or going on a guided tour).
| Time spent exploring the local culture | ||
| Time spent | On an all-inclusive holiday | On a non-all-inclusive holiday |
| 0 days/not at all | 5.9% | 4.7% |
| 1 day/once | 21.0% | 13.4% |
| 2 – 3 days/a few times | 44.3% | 40.7% |
| 4 – 6 days/very often | 19.5% | 23.4% |
| 7+ days/every day of my trip | 9.3% | 17.8% |
| Average amount in days | 2.9 | 3.6 |
A respondent was twice as likely to spend every day of their trip exploring local attractions or landmarks on a non-all-inclusive holiday compared to an all-inclusive one (16.8% compared to 7.9%). Overall, taking into consideration all responses, the average difference was slight: coming in at 3 days of a week-long trip for an all-inclusive goer, and 3.7 for other types of holidays.
| Time spent exploring local attractions | ||
| Time spent | On an all-inclusive holiday | On a non-all-inclusive holiday |
| 0 days/not at all | 4.8% | 3.0% |
| 1 day/once | 18.4% | 12.3% |
| 2 – 3 days/a few times | 48.3% | 39.6% |
| 4 – 6 days/very often | 20.5% | 28.4% |
| 7+ days/every day of my trip | 7.9% | 16.8% |
| Average amount in days | 3 | 3.7 |
Further data on time spent on exercise or exploring nature can be found on the main source page: https://radicalstorage.com/travel/all-inclusive-study/
