Gen Alpha Is Calling The Shots On Family Vacations

If your family vacation planning already involves debates about water slides, hotel pools and whether breakfast includes waffles, this will probably sound familiar.

A new Mastercard Travel Trendlines 2026 report, conducted with The Harris Poll, found that parents of Gen Alpha kids, generally children born from 2010 onward, are giving those kids a lot of influence over family travel plans.

According to the report, 76 percent of parents with Gen Alpha children say their kids have substantial input on international travel destinations. The same share, 76 percent, say they prioritize their child’s interests when choosing where to go. And 85 percent say their children can effectively veto a destination they do not like. If Gen Alpha was already developing an entitled reputation, this survey is not going to help.

Gen Alpha kids have more sway than many other kids

The report found a noticeable gap between Gen Alpha families and other parents. Among parents from other generational groups, 59 percent said their children have substantial input on destinations. Just 48 percent said their kids can veto a trip location.

That suggests travel planning in Gen Alpha households may be looking a lot more collaborative, or a lot more negotiated, than it once did. Parents may still be setting the budget and handling the booking, but plenty of kids are clearly helping shape the shortlist.

For families, that can mean trips built less around what adults want to see and more around what will keep kids interested, entertained and happy to tag along.

Other travel habits are shifting too

• 85 percent of international travellers consider exchange rates when choosing where to go
• 39 percent say they have taken a solo trip
• 20 percent say their most recent trip was solo
• 33 percent say they would be comfortable letting AI make travel purchases up to $1,000 without prior approval

Those numbers point to a travel landscape where people are watching costs closely, experimenting with new planning tools and making room for different kinds of trips, including ones shaped heavily by kids’ preferences.

This article was crafted with the assistance of an AI language model. The final content was reviewed and edited by a human and reflects the editorial judgment and expertise of Today's Parent.