A survey of UK holidaymakers by travel brand El Camino Bracelets, has revealed that the tide has turned on breaks with mates, as younger generations prefer to holiday with family, in stark contrast with midlifers and retirees, who prefer to forget the friends and family, and travel with a partner or solo.

El Camino surveyed more than 1500 Brits*, asking who they prefer to travel with and where they would like to go, and the surprising results show that just 14% preferred to holiday with friends. Far from the young being intrepid roamers, only 15% of Gen Z travellers (under 24 years of age) were keen to travel solo, with 41% of Gen Z-ers favouring family travel. Just 22% of Generation Z travellers preferred to holiday with mates. The survey also found that it was actually those recently retired or nearing retirement (65+) who preferred to travel solo, a significant 19%, or just to travel with a partner – 52%. Fewer than 1 in 5 of the oldest travellers polled preferred to holiday with their wider family.

The survey revealed contrasts in destinations favoured by different generations too. Despite not wanting to travel independently, Australia was top of the travel wishlist for Gen Z (22%), whereas Canada (11%) and New Zealand (8%) topped the wish list for 45-54 year old travellers. Japan was also very popular, featured in the top 3 destinations on the bucket list of all age groups of travellers. Australia and New Zealand and Iceland also topped the list as the favourite three countries already visited by the travellers surveyed.

Commenting on the results, El Camino Bracelets Founder, Candace Kellough, said; “Our survey did throw up some surprising results. Older travellers are sharing that their yearning to travel and see new things doesn’t just disappear, and I’m pleased to see the desire for solo and partner travel is so strong amongst recent retirees. Perhaps younger travellers prefer to travel with their family as that means their parents or grandparents are more likely to pay? Totally understandable with the cost of living crisis. This could also be why older travellers prefer to leave the family at home as they roam, so they can then afford to spoil themselves a bit more.”

“Our El Camino community of travellers spans a wide age range, and all are very passionate about travel, where they’ve been to and where they plan to visit next. The popularity of Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan and New Zealand in the survey also mirrors the destinations ordered by our customers to feature as Steps on their El Camino Bracelets. It’s great to see that so many firm favourites of the El Camino team made the travel lists too.”

El Camino Bracelets prices start from £26.99 for bracelets, £34.99 for necklaces, and Steps from £10.49. To find out more, visit www.elcaminobracelets.com.

ENDS

Notes to editors:
*  – Survey of 1,587 UK Travellers who are El Camino customers, carried out by El Camino Bracelets in July 2023.

Photos:
1) The end of mates holidays? Gen Z prefers to holiday with their family over friends.
2) Every El Camino bracelet and necklace is bespoke, so can feature destinations already explored or on travel wish lists.
3) El Camino Bracelets Founder, Candace Kellough (pictured with Co-Founder Tom Lane) said; “Our survey did throw up some surprising results. I’m pleased to see the desire for solo and partner travel is so strong amongst recent retirees.”

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About El Camino Bracelets:
Founded in 2013 by Candace Kellough and Tom Lane, El Camino Bracelets is based in Newquay, Cornwall.

Candace and Tom first had the idea for a bracelet that could record their travels, adventures and experiences whilst hiking the coastline between Barcelona and Monaco in 2013.

On returning to Tom’s parents’ home in Oxfordshire they began to handmake a few of the bracelets that they’d talked about, with beads engraved by a local craftsman to show the destinations and dates of adventures that the wearer had been on. The original batch of bracelets were given to close friends and family and they chose the name, El Camino, to pay homage to the Spanish roots of the project.

Much time has passed since the first drawings of an El Camino bracelet were created in a tent near Sa Tuna. Today the beads, or ‘Steps’, are still engraved by the same man in Oxfordshire, but the company headquarters is on the north coast of Cornwall. Wearers can now choose from several different colours of bracelet or necklace, adding Steps from over 200 different countries, countless destinations, regions, seas, adventures and the five world oceans.

To find out more, visit https://elcaminobracelets.com/pages/our-story.

Media contact:
Fiona Anderson, GEC PR – [email protected]