Group travel is having a revival. After years of lockdowns, canceled trips, and isolation, travelers are eager to reconnect in person. But the way they are doing it has changed completely. Traditional bus tours and prepackaged itineraries are giving way to flexible, personalized group experiences powered by tech and shaped by community.
Today, a group trip might mean a multi-generational family vacation, a friendcation organized over WhatsApp, or a curated yoga retreat booked through a creator-led travel startup. Travel togetherness is back, but with a new shape, new tools, and a very different set of expectations.
The New Faces of Group Travel
What used to be a space dominated by retirees and business teams is now being led by Gen Z, Millennials, and digitally savvy families. In a recent survey, 61% of Americans said they want to travel with either extended family or a small group of friends this year. Multi-generational travel has grown sharply, and friendcations are becoming the default for everything from birthdays to reunions.
Solo travelers are also redefining the group model. Rather than traveling with someone they already know, many are joining interest-based tours and creator-hosted trips to connect with strangers around a shared passion. Operators like Intrepid Travel have seen a sharp rise in solo-in-group bookings, with over half their travelers now joining alone.
This is not just about demographics. It is about mindset. People want to travel with purpose, share experiences, and form meaningful connections along the way. The group trip has become a vehicle for the community.
The Rise of Interest-Based Travel Communities
Many of today’s most compelling group travel experiences are born online. They start in niche forums, Instagram comments, Reddit threads, and curated communities built around lifestyle or fandom.
From music festival tours to culinary escapes and wellness retreats, travelers are choosing trips that reflect who they are and what they care about. Themed trips offer more than just sightseeing, they offer identity. You are not just visiting a place. You are traveling with your people.
This shift is also reshaping how travel is discovered. Word-of-mouth is now digital. Peer reviews, influencer recommendations, and community-generated tips carry more weight than ever. Brands are learning that every traveler is also a broadcaster. When a group experience is joyful and shareable, it becomes its own growth engine.
Coordination Is Now Collaborative
One of the biggest changes is how group trips are planned. The traditional model where one person managing everything is giving way to collaborative coordination. Shared polls, live maps, group chats, and real-time itineraries are now standard.
Apps like Splitwise, Google Maps, and Kayak Trip Huddle are making it easier for everyone to vote on destinations, manage expenses, and contribute ideas. WhatsApp polls and collaborative docs are replacing spreadsheets and email threads.
In many ways, travel planning has become a social experience before the trip even begins. And yet, most of this collaboration still happens across a patchwork of tools — WhatsApp for group chats, Google Docs for itineraries, standalone apps for expenses. Some travel platforms are starting to bring these interactions in-app, creating dedicated community spaces where travelers can coordinate, post updates, and stay connected before, during, and after the trip.
It is no longer about logistics, it is about co-creation. The process of planning together is part of the trip itself.
Tech-Forward Travel Brands Are Evolving
Travel companies are adapting to this shift in several ways. Hotels are offering more flexible room setups to accommodate friend groups and multi-gen families. Resorts are building programming for all ages. Tour operators are designing smaller, private, or themed group experiences.
Some platforms are even becoming full-service trip planners. Tools that allow travelers to coordinate, communicate, and personalize within one space are growing in popularity. These are not just tools for booking, they are tools for belonging.
Event-driven travel is rising too. Travelers are planning trips around concerts, sports events, and cultural festivals. Packages that bundle tickets with lodging and group coordination support are helping turn one-time events into shared adventures.
A New Era of Travel, Shaped by Community
The return of group travel is not a return to the past. It is a reinvention. The future of group trips is flexible, community-led, and digitally enabled.
For travel and hospitality brands, this is an invitation. The more you help people connect with each other and with the experience, the more relevant you become.
We are entering a new era where every trip is social, every traveler is a contributor, and every group is its own micro-community. Whether it is a friendcation, a creator-led journey, or a shared adventure among strangers, today’s group travel is about connection first.
And for those building the platforms and experiences behind it, the message is clear: design for belonging and the bookings will follow.