Luxury Travel Trend: Why Multi-Gen Families Are the Next Big Thing

Multi-generational travel is moving upmarket.

Rather than booking standard group tours or cruises, affluent families are increasingly opting for privately guided, tailor-made journeys that can flex around multiple generations.

Tailor-made itineraries customized for different interests and activity levels. Villas that allow large groups to stay together, enjoying privacy without sacrificing amenities. Private guides that make a trip feel truly personalized and unique.

These are just some of the advantages of bespoke travel that are pushing more and more families to look to luxury tour operators for their multi-generation family trips.

Tour operators like Alexander + Roberts, Audley Travel, and Butterfield & Robinson are all seeing an increase in bookings for family travel, driven by clients wanting a custom trip that can be shared across generations.

“Privately guided travel works so well because families can split off, do different activities based on interest or ability, and then come back together to share the experience,” Scott Avera, president of Alexander + Roberts, told Travel Market Report.

Why Custom Tours Are Ideal for Multi-Gen Families

Tailor-made travel is ideal for elevated multi-gen family vacations. The custom nature of these itineraries provides freedom and comfort that feels personalized, private, and meaningful—and for clients looking to create memories with their loved ones, that unforgettable aspect is an essential ingredient.

One of the challenges of creating a satisfying multi-gen itinerary is finding ways to ensure that all travellers have a memorable experience. Different generations of travelers have different interests, fitness levels, and priorities—but families still want the trip to feel like a shared experience.

Audley Travel, a tailor-made specialist, solves this problem with “multi-spoke” itineraries for its multi-gen travelers: trips where travelers can enjoy the same destination highlights but experience them in different ways, such as active family members enjoying a bike tour while others tour via a private car.

Cathy Kusuma Bennis, Audley Travel’s vice president and head of trade sales and partnerships, North America, told TMR that the tour operator’s country specialists often get requests for curated, multi-spoke itineraries that meet travelers’ different needs and desires without sacrificing the feeling of traveling together as a family.

“This type of travel is perfect for multi-generational families because it allows everybody to travel together, even visit the same sites, but in a different way—and then come back together and still build those shared memories,” said Bennis.

“It allows everybody to travel together, but each member feels like they’re receiving something that’s personalized to them—whether that’s different activity levels, interests, or pacing,” she added.

The Rise in Bespoke Multi-Gen Travel Bookings

Multi-gen bookings are on the rise among tour operators that specialize in tailor-made travel.

“Multi-generational travel is without a doubt a growing trend for us. It’s a much larger piece of our business than it was even a few years ago,” said Avera.

The trend is largely driven by grandparents looking to spend their savings on experiences they can share with their loved ones rather than buying material goods.

“In many cases, the grandparents are paying for the entire trip, which kind of speaks to what we saw at USTOA—the baby boomers holding the largest share of wealth in the U.S. They’re prioritizing experiences, traveling more, and sharing it with their family,” explained Avera.

Canadian luxury tour operator Butterfield & Robinson recently launched a multi-gen travel collection, the Multi-Gen Legacy line, in response to surging demand from this niche. Revenue from multi-gen and skip-gen family travel has more than doubled since 2018, and yacht charters increased by 130% year-over-year in 2025.

Kristi Elborne, chief experience officer at Butterfield & Robinson, told TMR that multi-generational travel is reshaping luxury tourism. “It’s about creating shared adventures that span generations,” she said. “The ideal clients are families seeking memory-rich travel that balances privacy, freedom, and shared experience—often to mark milestones or build lasting family traditions.”

Travel advisors stand to benefit from the emerging trend, and tour operators that specialize in bespoke travel are best positioned to cater to this niche.

“Planning multi-generational travel is inherently complex, and it’s something we’ve been doing for decades. Every journey is deeply customized to balance shared experiences with individual needs,” said Elborne. “We’re not just planning one journey. We work with advisors and families to map multi-year travel plans, often five years or more, around meaningful moments.”