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The rise of à la carte travelling: A look into the travel practices of Gen Z.

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The single-most important factor when it came to travel opportunities used to be money. Now, a growing number of Gen Z travellers are proving that meaningful journeys are shaped less by how much they spend and more by the choices they make along the way.

Budget travelling is no longer just about spending less. For Gen Z, it is about spending smartly. Instead of choosing luxury at every step, young travellers are becoming selective about where they want to indulge. What travel looked like a few years ago has changed. Today, luxury is less about a five-star hotel and more about having an experience that feels worth the money.

This shift is often called à la carte travelling. Simply put, it means building your own trip. Instead of buying a pre-planned holiday or café dining package, you decide where to save and where to spend.

You do not have to look very far to see this. It starts right here in college. Café hopping is almost a part of student life. A day before the plan, the research begins. Which café should we go to? Is the food worth it? Does the place have a nice ambience? How far is it? Then comes the budget. Instead of booking a cab, everyone squeezes into an auto, splits the fare, reaches the café, splits the bill again, clicks pictures for Instagram and spends the evening there. They save on the commute so they can spend on the experience.

The same approach follows them when they travel. Instead of spending on every part of a trip, they spend only on the parts that make the journey memorable. They might stay in a hostel instead of a hotel, take an affordable bus instead of a flight, or use public transport or rent a scooty to explore a city, so that they can spend more on experiences that actually matter to them.

Vrushank Kupsad, a student at Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, prefers staying in hostels because they bring people together. “Hotels have no life in them. In hostels, you meet people, share stories and make connections with strangers,” he said.

He also recalled taking an ₹800 bus from Bengaluru to Hubballi. “I ended up sharing life stories with a fellow passenger. It became one of my best travel memories,” he added.

Aaratrika Ghosh, a student at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi, said,

“I feel inherently as a student who funds her trips with her own money through freelance and internships, budget travelling becomes a plus point to optimise travel and actually travel and not just vacation. Recently, I went on a trip to Yulla Kanda in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, and I completed it under ₹4,500 (Delhi to Delhi) while travel agencies were charging a minimum of ₹7,999. I saved money by travelling local, eating local, and supporting local homestays and hostels.”

Ananya Maurya, a student at Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi, said travelling to McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh by bus and staying in a hostel made the trip both affordable and memorable.

“I still remember lying on our bunk beds in the hostel after the bus journey, talking about the reels we would make. It felt surreal that a trip which had only existed in our group chat had finally become a reality. In between, I felt like I was living in the fantasy world of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani,” she said.

Harshit Singh, a student at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, University of Delhi, said renting a scooty allowed him and his friends to explore Dharamshala freely.

“It cost us ₹600 for two days, was budget-friendly, was less expensive than a cab, and gave us the freedom to explore the city on our own,” he said.

This is equally evident at international student conferences as well. Every year, the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) brings together around 700–800 student delegates from across the world in an Asian city to discuss global issues, leadership and policy. Yet, the conference is only one part of the journey. The planning around it shows how Gen-Z travels and manages the budget today.

Once delegates are added to their cohort and city groups, conversations quickly shift to budgets. Students coordinate with one another to book the same hostel or hotel, share rooms to reduce accommodation costs, compare flight fares before prices increase, and plan extra days in the host city to explore it beyond the conference. H-PAIR also shares local recommendations and places to visit, encouraging delegates to experience the city outside the conference venue.

Taken together, these choices are changing the travel economy. Instead of relying on travel agencies and fixed itineraries, many Gen Z travellers prefer planning their own journeys. Recommendations often come from fellow travellers in a hostel, a local restaurant owner, an elderly co-passenger on a bus explaining the history of a town, or even a chance conversation with a resident, rather than from a tour operator. These interactions give travellers the flexibility to change plans, stay longer at places they enjoy and discover cafés, neighbourhoods, local markets and hidden spots that are often left out of packaged tours.

As a result, money that was once spent on hefty, all-inclusive holiday packages is now finding its way to hostels, cafés, local transport providers, scooter rentals, walking tours and other local businesses, many of which are MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises). Rather than making one large travel purchase, Gen Z is distributing its budget across different parts of the journey.

À la carte travelling is doing more than changing where young people spend their money. It is also encouraging community building. Hostels have become more than just affordable accommodation; they are spaces where travellers connect, exchange recommendations, share stories and build friendships with people from different backgrounds. These interactions often continue beyond the trip, turning chance encounters into lasting connections.

For Gen Z, the value of a journey is no longer measured by how much they spend, but by the memories they create, the people they meet and the stories they bring back. As more young people travel this way, they are not only re-framing the travel economy but also creating a travel culture where experiences, human connections and shared stories matter as much as the destination itself.

Photo Credits: Mahi Mishra, Vrushank Kupsad, Ananya Maurya and Aaratrika Ghosh

Read also:- The Housewife Who Answered for the Government

Mahi Mishra

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

Gen-Z and Insecure-T

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What makes our generation more insecure than the others? What screams “insecurity”? Read further to know more…

Our generation, the Gen-Z, turns out to be the most narcissistic generation. We are so engrossed with our identities on social media and in real life that we fail to realise the juncture where our self-obsession reshapes into insecurity. We may portray heightened versions of ourselves on reel, but in reality we may not walk around feeling all that much satisfied. With so much around to juxtapose our own traits with, our inner-critics compare, evaluate and judge our own selves with great scrutiny.

One of the most essential causes of insecurity happens to be rejection and failure. Just how Shane tells us his “heart can’t take rejection, because he’s insecure, baby,” prior experiences of exclusion or criticism may have a severe impact on one’s self esteem. Incidences like the ending of a relationship, poor performance in academics or negative health events attribute equally to an already lowered confidence.

However, what surpasses this rejection by society is rejection of our own self. This is prominent in the case of perfectionism. We create an image of an ideal self in our minds. This image is often unrealistic and irrational, and its digression from the real self often causes anxiety and triggers our insecurity. “The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel,” said Steve Furtick, enlightening us all of a harsh reality we fail to see.

Insecurity can be observed in the not-so-subtle remarks made by individuals on a daily basis. For instance, complimenting oneself in between conversations screams insecurity from across the land. After a point, it’s as if the person is trying to convince him/herself of their own traits. In contrast to this, even downgrading oneself is a classic show of insecurity. In such cases, one either fishes for compliments or is a perfectionist, expecting too much out of him/herself.

An insecure person may find it difficult to maintain eye contact or even talk about them for long due to the previously mentioned fear of rejection. The persisting self doubt in the person surfaces, making them want to wrap up conversations about self as soon as possible. Again, in the celebrated words of Shane, “losing grasp of the time, trying not to say what I want,” – an apparent illustration of insecurity.

Now that we’ve been over the causes and symptoms of insecurity, let us ponder over certain measures to tackle this. First off, you need to identify what you’re really insecure about and why you’re insecure to begin with. The deeper you dig, the closer you’ll find yourself to the roots of your problems. Once identified, you need to challenge your insecurities by adopting a more rational and objective perspective towards them. This will allow you to question the validity of your experiences and open up doors to new possibilities.

Moreover, you need to acknowledge and reward your successes and accomplishments in order to remind yourself of your abilities to work things out even in difficult situations. At the same time, allow yourself to learn and benefit from your mistakes. Don’t let them bring your morale down. Most importantly, learn to reject the opinions of others about yourself. “We are defined by what we choose to reject. And if we reject nothing we essentially have no identity at all,” quoted Mark Manson in his highly acclaimed novel, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.

Nobody is perfect. Everybody makes mistakes and everybody has those days. We’ve all learned this from our, dear old Hannah Montana, and it is high time we advocate this too. It is essential for us to accept ourselves the way we are. We need to embrace our flaws and welcome them as a part of our personalities, because that is what distinguishes us from the rest. Be grateful for who you are and cut yourself some slack. Remember Bob Marley when he tells you, “Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!”

 

Featued Image Credits: Elegant Themes

Aditi Gutgutia 

[email protected]

 

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DUB Speak

Generation Snowflake – Where Did Tolerance Go?

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On this ‘International Day of Tolerance’, here’s an understanding of the term ‘generation snowflake’ and the diminishing tolerance in the society.

“You are not special. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same organic and decaying matter as everyone else,” said Tyler Durden in Fight Club.

Snowflake, literally meaning frozen rain is a term used to describe oversensitive individuals who melt at the slightest increase in temperature just like an actual snowflake. They feel a sense of entitlement and believe their opinion to be right all the time. They have a hard time accommodating conflicting opinions and get offended at the drop of a hat.

Today’s generation of oversensitive millennials and post-millennials are commonly categorized as ‘generation snowflake’. It is widely believed that this generation is more prone to taking offence than any other previous generation. While every generation takes offence at some or the other things, our generation seems to be more vulnerable and sensitive.

As the famous feminist saying goes ‘Personal is political’, the current generation seems to have started taking everything political as personal resulting in high emotional responses.

Researchers argue that university students today are overly self-entitled, averse to any form of criticism and lack resilience to accommodate conflicts. While this is a debatable argument, the increasing trigger warnings before articles and social-media rants make it difficult to eliminate the term altogether. The tolerance level seems to be at an all-time low as even the most insignificant issue arouses aggressive emotions from the youth on social media today.

‘I see my social media filled with overly emotional and at times, aggressive responses to every new political or social news. Many times I feel that such reactions are overstated and serve no purpose,’ said a student of Gargi College.

While according to Sakshi from Kamala Nehru College, “This is derogatory to assume because our generation is much more active and socially aware.”

The generation today is, undoubtedly, much more enlightened about the various ills and discrimination plaguing society. They speak up for their rights and tolerate no injustice. But, the term ‘snowflake’ is for those individuals who, masking this activism, use the opportunity to whine at every matter.

Cynicism and Nihilism are the ‘it’ words used by the generation today as optimism and hope seem to have exited their dictionaries. A large number of NGOs fuel this thinking by presenting an exaggerated dystopian worldview. Parenting is largely responsible for how a child will grow up to be. Thus, it becomes essential to see through the ‘snowflake’ traits of their children and inculcate tolerance and humility.

While, as much as this generation is believed to be intolerant, narcissistic and entitled, it becomes important to reflect that this term ‘generation snowflake’ is also coming out of older generations’ inability to accommodate this opinionated generation.

Instead of dismissing the current generation’s every argument as immature and branding them as ‘sensitive and intolerant young people’, people need to be more open to accepting this evolving generation who take no injustice. Also, the Gen Y and Z need to be more tolerant of opinions which don’t match theirs and decisions that don’t go their way.

On this ‘International Day of Tolerance’, let’s pledge to be more tolerant and accommodative of conflicting opinions and views and take dissent as disagreement and not disrespect.

 

Feature Image Credits: Scopio

 

Shreya Agrawal

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