Forget white sand beaches or five-star spas—nearly one in four Americans are picking travel destinations because the people in the photos are hot.
Full Frame Insurance asked 1,000 travelers what influences their trips, and 27% said they’ve either gone somewhere or plan to, based solely on how attractive the people looked in the photos. For men, it’s 35%. And Gen Z? A full 59% are picking destinations because the locals or tourists looked “dateable.” Boomers, as expected, are not playing this game—just 7% admitted the same.
It’s not just vanity. It’s a kind of social forecasting. People scroll through travel photos looking for signs of who shows up there, what kind of attention they might get, and whether it feels aspirational, hook-up-able, or at least not lame. If everyone looks hot, fun, and like they’d ignore your DMs? That place is in the running.
Gen Zers Are Planning Their Vacations Based on How ‘Hot’ the Locals Are
And if you’re wondering how far this goes: nearly a third of Gen Z travelers admit to bringing someone along just to take their photos and videos. For them, the trip isn’t real until it’s posted.
But looks aren’t the only thing people are screening for. Forty-two percent of Americans say they’re more likely to visit a destination if the photos show diverse people—across body type, race, age, and ability. For Gen Z, it’s even stronger: 64% say inclusive imagery makes a place feel more worth visiting. Which makes sense, when so much of travel is about imagining yourself in the frame.
It’s the same reason people are more skeptical of AI-generated photos. A whopping 83% said they feel anxious about altered or overly polished images, unsure whether what they’re seeing is real—or a filter-happy lie that hides the sketchy street view behind the “cozy” hotel.
And when that reality doesn’t match the dream? It’s not just a bummer—it’s enough to cancel the whole trip. Nearly 40% of travelers say they’ve been misled by travel photos. Ten percent ended their trips early because of it. Eighteen percent of Gen Z did.
This is how the internet works now. Photos aren’t just selling scenery—they’re selling the promise of belonging, of possibility, of being seen. Sometimes that looks like a sunset over Santorini. Sometimes it looks like a shirtless guy on a moped.
And sometimes, that’s all it takes to book the flight.
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