New Study Reveals How Young People’s Travelling Habits Have Evolved Over Time

Whether you’re a lifelong traveller or have recently contracted the travel bug, there’s no denying that getting away and experiencing different cultures will enrich your life.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Contiki, the OG youth travel operators have revealed the results of a new research study to discover how young people’s travelling habits and motivations have evolved over time.

When it comes to the the essentials that we pack, the study found the travellers in pre-2000s had totally different priorities, which typically reflected how technology has moved forward in the last few decades. Before the year 2000, people valued bringing local currency, film cameras, guidebooks, maps, and address books.

I haven’t seen an address book since I was last at my parents’ house. The nostalgia is real!

For more modern travellers post-2000, we won’t head off on a vacay without our smartphones, power bank, noise-cancelling headphones, HD cameras, or cable organisers.

And with smartphones comes access to apps, with the study also finding that four in five Aussies are now unable to travel without Google Maps. Facebook, Google Translate, Instagram, and YouTube were also popular travel apps.

I mean, how else can you kill time on a long, winding European train ride than doom-scrolling Facebook?

In an attempt to test how travelling has evolved, Contiki partnered with TikTok influencer, Millie Ford, for the ‘Sixties Suitcase Challenge’. In the ultimate throwback, Millie went on a Contiki tour armed with a polaroid camera, a retro radio, and repping ’60s fashion inside her vintage suitcase.

“Travelling with minimal technology and only the 60s-style essentials was definitely a challenge,” said Ford. “In the early days I found myself reaching into my pocket to check my Instagram or find my way on Google Maps, but what this 12-day tour made me realise is I don’t need a phone or internet connection to meet new people and form a strong bond with one another.

“Socially, travel hasn’t changed much – I imagine back in the 60s you were still meeting people and making friends, and this is what made my trip such an unforgettable experience.”

And Millie isn’t the only one who longs for a more simplified travel experience. One in three Aussies said they wished they could travel how people did in the 1960s.

Contiki’s Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand, Toni Ambler, reveals that whether Aussies were travelling 60 years ago, or in contemporary times, they both have a passion for making connections across the globe. “When you pull apart the trends, the one thing that has remained constant over these last 60 years is the desire for human connection and to have a social travel experience whilst making memories for life.”