TikTok is changing how Gen Z finds holiday ideas in Spain

The perfect reel of some colourful tapas, a quirky village festival or a winding mountain path can now inspire a holiday to a whole audience within seconds.

TikTok changes travel inspiration

Short-form videos are influencing how younger travellers choose destinations, activities and experiences, with Spain receiving fresh attention from a generation searching for new ideas online. A study commissioned by TUI Musement found that 48% of Gen Z participants cited TikTok as a source of travel inspiration. Recommendations from family and friends followed at 43%.

Research was carried out by Appinio in January 2026 among respondents in Spain, Italy and the UK. Gen Z respondents born between 1997 and 2012 were more likely to look to TikTok than to traditional personal recommendations when searching for holiday ideas. Search engines such as Google also remained a leading source overall, cited by 42% of those who took the survey.

Viral videos inspire real trips

Viral content is also influencing what travellers book once they have started planning. More than four in ten respondents, or 43%, said they had booked a trip or activity after seeing a viral post or video.

That figure reached 50% among Gen Z, while millennials recorded an even higher figure of 52%. Content creators also played an important role, with 43% of respondents saying influencers affected their decisions about where to go or what to do. A further 27% said they had changed their destination after following an influencer recommendation.

Spain’s food, landscapes, traditions and historic towns are well suited to this visual style of travel. Local markets, regional recipes, traditional celebrations and unusual heritage sites can all provide inspiration for a short video—and a future visit.

Showing different sides of Spain

Spain’s official tourism website is using its own social media channels to encourage visitors to discover lesser-known traditions, villages and slower travel experiences.

Its recommendations include food and customs from different regions, villages with unusual landscapes and heritage sites, plus nature-based trips such as thermal bathing, countryside walks and mountain excursions. Spain.info describes social media as a way to find new perspectives on the country and plan experiences beyond its best-known destinations.

Traditional grape harvesting, roasted chestnuts, historic monuments and rural landscapes can offer visitors a closer connection with local life. Such experiences may also appeal to expats who want to explore more of the country they now call home.

Spain through a younger lens, but it comes with pressure

Travel habits do not end when visitors arrive. TUI Musement found that 39% of respondents had visited a tourist attraction with the main purpose to take the perfect photo or record a video to be shared, with 73% sharing holiday content online at least occasionally. Social media also affected expectations, with 37% saying they felt pressure to make their holidays appear exciting online. That figure rose to 45% among Gen Z.

Digital travel inspiration is giving younger visitors new reasons to explore Spain’s regional food, heritage and natural scenery. For those living in Spain, it may also provide fresh ideas for day trips, weekend breaks and local experiences that are easy to miss when visiting the same familiar destinations.

TikTok may be changing how travellers find Spain, but it’s the country’s cultural traditions, stunning landscapes and wonderful communities that remain the reason those videos have such an influence.