"From Flights Booked on the Brink of Burnout"... Gen Z's Obsession with "Rage-Booking" Trips [The World in Gen Z's Eyes]

(49)Booking flights when stress peaks
Focusing on recovery and recharge over luxury trips
83% said it "helped improve their mood"

Editor's noteGeneration Z (those born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s) is leading culture and trends in a rapidly changing era and is drawing attention as a generation that is setting new standards across society. In [The World in Gen Z's Eyes], we shed light on the lives and values of Gen Z around the globe and explore how they are transforming society.

A new travel trend known as "rage-booking" is rapidly spreading, especially among younger people in the United States. This refers to the behavior of impulsively booking a trip at the very moment when stress from burnout (burnout: extreme fatigue and loss of motivation) reaches its peak. Rather than pursuing a luxurious vacation, the focus is on recovery and recharging, with most trips being short, minimally planned, and centered on rest.

"Let's just get away" to escape burnout... A fast-rising trend in the U.S.

Pixabay

U.S. travel insurance company Faye highlighted the "rage-booking" phenomenon in a recently released report, stating, "With burnout spreading throughout society, Americans are increasingly trying to relieve it through travel."

According to the report, 52% of U.S. travelers are currently experiencing burnout, and about 1 in 3 of them (32%) have booked a vacation specifically to relieve burnout. The sense of burnout was particularly pronounced among younger generations: 74% of Gen Z respondents and 69% of Millennials said they were burned out, compared with 56% of Generation X and just 26% of Baby Boomers.

As burnout becomes normalized, emotional factors are playing a major role in travel decisions. Among respondents, 23% said they booked a trip because of burnout, and 21% cited work-related stress as the reason for making a reservation. In particular, 22% of respondents said they had booked a trip at least once while in a state of anger or extreme stress.

Faye defined this trend as "emotion-based travel" and explained that travel bookings are increasingly driven by a psychological desire to escape real-world stress, going beyond simple rest or leisure. In fact, 83% of respondents said that rage-booking helped improve their mood. Faye added, "The way burnout manifests varies from person to person, but what is clear is that many people are looking for ways to 'reset' their daily lives," and noted, "Rage-booking may look impulsive, but beneath it lies a desire to regain a sense of control when life feels overwhelming."

Rage-booking is trending in India as well

Pixabay

A similar travel trend is emerging in India. Karan Agarwal, director at India's largest travel agency Cox & Kings, told India Today, "Travel is no longer planned around vacation schedules, but is instead being decided based on emotional and mental exhaustion," adding, "The increase in bookings that are unrelated to peak seasons shows that travel has shifted from being mere leisure to a means of reorganizing everyday life." In the past, spontaneous trips were often driven by discounted airfares, holiday weekends, or travel photos seen on social media, whereas rage-booking is different in that it is a reaction to sustained stress and burnout.

Kshitij Gupta (31), who works in sales, also said he has impulsively booked a trip because of work-related stress. "After finishing a difficult work call that lasted more than two hours, I saw a travel influencer's social media post and just wanted to get away somewhere," he said. He added, "That night, I contacted my friends and booked plane tickets to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, India."

Meanwhile, Indian media outlet NDTV described the appeal of rage-booking as follows: "The charm lies not only in the trip itself, but also in the act of booking, which provides an immediate sense of release," analyzing that "making a firm decision in a stressful situation turns helplessness into action and gives people the feeling that they are regaining control over their lives."

However, NDTV also pointed out several downsides, including the burden of high costs, inconvenient travel schedules, and the risk of feeling even more exhausted after the trip. It advised that anyone considering rage-booking should prepare in advance by setting a budget, prioritizing options with free cancellation, and choosing destinations that are easy to reach.