85% of parents of Gen Alpha children acknowledge that their kids hold effective veto power over international destination choices, which is more than double the rate seen among parents of other generations (48%). A further 76% say their children’s interests are now the primary factor in deciding where the family travels.
That’s according to new global data from Mastercard’s Travel Trendline 2026 – a survey of more than 15,000 consumers across 11 countries.
So, if you’ve recently found yourself abandoning a perfectly good holiday shortlist because your eight-year-old declared it “boring,” you’re definitely not alone.
This is a fundamental shift that Zay Ferguson-Nair, Customer Experience Leader at Flight Centre South Africa, says she sees reflected in how South African family holidays are planned, budgeted for, and ultimately experienced – and it’s creating a new travel challenge that no amount of Google searching can fully solve.
Who exactly is Gen Alpha?
