Chasing 'TFW'

Across travel, hospitality, and food and beverage, India's Gen Z is reshaping how they discover, design, and share their leisure experiences

- BY SMITA TRIPATHI

THAT FEELING WHEN, or TFW, captures a popular Gen Z emotion, often expressed through a hashtag on social media. So, on a Sunday afternoon in Mumbai, when 24-year-old Vaheeshta Das, who works at VFS Global, was planning her next short break, she was essentially #chasingTFW. Like many in her generation, she schedules four or five trips a year around shifting work calendars. The planning process unfolds almost entirely online. Instagram, she says, offers aspiration and aesthetics. Reddit provides candour. AI fills in the gaps.

“Instagram shows the vibe of a place,” Das explains. “Reddit is where people are more honest and unfiltered.” AI tools help her structure itineraries, optimise travel days and discover experiences she might otherwise miss. Used together, these platforms create what she calls a “realistic picture” of a destination before she books, helping her get closer to the ideal TFW.

This layered approach to travel planning captures a broader transformation underway in India’s travel, hospitality and food-and-beverage sectors. Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012), long framed as an emerging cohort, has become one of the most influential forces reshaping these sectors.

The Gen Z Travel Playbook

Gen Z is travelling more frequently, planning more strategically and assigning value differently. Data from online travel platforms Cleartrip, Skyscanner, and Klook points to a cohort that treats travel as a recurring, integrated part of life rather than a once-a-year indulgence.

The BT-PRICE Gen Z Consumption Behaviour Survey shows an almost even split between domestic and international travel overall. Out of the 4,000-odd people surveyed across India, 45% in metro cities prefer to travel domestically. The count changes to 55% in Tier II cities. Among the most affluent, nearly nine in ten trips are abroad.