They may be the youngest travellers, but Gen Alpha are setting big trends when it comes to family travel.

When I was growing up, family holidays always took the same inevitable shape. My dad driving, mum next to him painting her nails bright red, while my siblings and I elbowed each other in the back of our Ford Fairlane as we drove to visit relatives in regional Victoria or family friends in Queensland. Where we went, where we stayed, what we ate and how we spent each day was entirely at the discretion of my parents. The biggest decision my siblings and I got to make was what lollies we could take for the journey. How times have changed.

Hilton’s 2025 Trends Report found 71 per cent of Australian parents say Gen Alpha (children aged under 15 years) and Gen Z are key decision makers when it comes to travel. These kids are no longer just along for the ride; they’re steering the journey.

“Our research shows young decision-makers are motivated by experiences rather than simply destinations," says Paul Hutton, area vice president and head of Australasia at Hilton. “Sixty-two per cent of Australian families are now basing holiday plans on their children’s interests."

While parents are still continuing to take the lead on logistics such as accommodation, transport and budget, younger travellers are having a big say in picking activities, destinations and dining options.

Beyond Disney and the USA: why Asian pop culture is influencing family trips

I’ve seen this with my own children, who are 13 and 10. At their age, having grown up on a steady diet of American music, films and TV, my dream holiday destination was the United States. But my kids and their friends are hooked on East Asian culture. Anime is now as popular amongst Gen Z as Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, and the Netflix phenomenon of KPop Demon Hunters cemented how Asian pop culture is well and truly ‘fire’ (that’s Gen Z for cool if you’re old like me). So, when my husband and I started talking about a family holiday for mid-2025, my kids had strong opinions about where they wanted to go. Their ideal destination? Japan.

My son has always been a keen reader, but a few years ago he discovered manga and became completely obsessed. He started dressing as characters from Jujutsu Kaisen and One Piece, and poring over the complicated kanji characters, trying to decode them. When Japanese was offered as an elective at his school, he jumped at it.

My daughter, on the other hand, can’t get enough of the Sanrio characters – Hello Kitty, My Melody, all of them – and loves anything kawaii (cute). She’s also, despite her age, a hiking enthusiast. Or perhaps more accurately, she’s enthusiastic about hiking gear –the poles, the backpack, the snack pouches. And Japan has some of the world’s best snacks (and hikes), so it was settled.

Japan through young eyes: a pilgrimage full of manga, snacks and kawaii

We ended up booking three weeks, pulling together a journey that managed to tick all the boxes. We headed to Tokyo first, with its vibrant, bustling streets, tiny eateries and the hypnotic whir of capsule machines dispensing treasures encased in plastic spheres.

Then we undertook a five-day pilgrimage with Walk Japan along the old Nakasendo Way through the Kiso Valley, where the kids loved exploring the ancient post towns, staying in traditional inns and experiencing the precise choreography of a tea ceremony. Then my daughter’s love for all things soft and kawaii hit its peak in Nara where the city’s tame deer nuzzled her palm with their velvety noses.

The more we travelled through the country, the more Japan had a hold on my kids. My son became a devotee of street food, queuing at smoky stalls to ask in his halting Japanese for golden orbs of takoyaki (octopus balls). My daughter developed a crepe obsession, hunting down the architectural marvels loaded with ice cream, berries, whipped cream and wedges of brownie.

They wanted to catch public transport, so we did. On the shinkansen, they discovered bento boxes that contained magic inside; if you pull a string, the meal heats itself, steam rising from the compartments. They marvelled at four-year-olds navigating the complicated trains alone, returning from preschool with the confidence of seasoned commuters.

The claw machines that lined every shopping street became a new fixation, my son stalking the perfect manga figurines while my daughter strategised over how to nab the perfect soft toys. We may have overdosed the kids on shrines and temples, but their flagging enthusiasm was always salvaged by a vending machine promising something new, like jellied drinks and the delicious (but unfortunately named) Pocari Sweat hydration beverage.

Passion over logistics: the pay-off of planning holidays around what kids love

According to Hilton’s research, we’re not just letting our kids choose an activity while on holidays, we’re building entire trips around what they’re passionate about, what they’re learning at school and what’s captured their imagination. Our three-week Japan trip cost considerably more than a beach resort would have. We stayed at traditional ryokans during the hike, splurged on cultural experiences and said yes to far more claw machine attempts than was probably wise. But we didn’t want to say no when they were this engaged.

As we soaked in a traditional onsen at the end of our hike, physically exhausted but content, I asked my daughter if the trip had lived up to her expectations so far. She grinned and said it was even better than she had imagined. Then she added, “Can we go to Korea next year?" I laughed, assuming she was joking. She definitely wasn’t. Gen Alpha might be the youngest travellers, but they’re calling the shots, and those of us footing the bill can see the benefits in following where they lead.