Airlines and hotels are adapting accordingly, offering non-alcoholic mocktail and beer options on their menus. And when businesses focus on offering non-alcoholic options, booze-free travel becomes more accessible. “Gen Z drinks less than the generations before them, so hotels, bars and restaurants are catering to their likes and requests,” Sheinbaum said.
Delta, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines all have non-alcoholic offerings, serving mocktails and non-alcoholic beer both in-flight and in lounges. Delta passengers can order mocktails like the “Citrus Fizz” or the “Pomegranate Lemon Cooler,” and Alaska Airlines offers Best Day Brewing, a craft non-alcoholic beer, on every flight. JetBlue also serves Athletic Brewing non-alcoholic beer on all of its domestic flights.
Watters said cruises aren’t far behind. Virgin Voyages, for example, revamped its mocktail menu, aiming to be “the best cruise line for non-drinkers.” The Disney Cruise Line is also focusing on mocktails, teaming up with non-alcoholic cocktail company Free Spirits.
Hotels are leaning in, too. “Hotels are rolling out delicious mocktails, adaptogen drinks, teas and serotonin sodas,” Melanie Fish, chief trend tracker for Expedia Brands, noted in an Expedia report.
Hilton offers mocktails that feature Lyre’s non-alcoholic spirits, and Marriott added non-alcoholic drink options to its lounges and bars, Watters pointed out. Sheinbaum said hotel beverage directors have a clear understanding of the shift. The Fairmont Kei Lani in Maui, for example, has non-alcoholic cocktails on both its bar and restaurant menus, and the hotel’s beverage director has been sober for more than two years.
The UK is ahead of the curve
When you pair Gen Z’s lack of interest in drinking with the generation’s preference for spending money on experiences rather than things, you have a strong consumer base for non-alcoholic options in the travel space, Watters said.
She pointed out that the UK is particularly focused on this shift, launching travel agencies – like We Love Lucid – that are dedicated to alcohol-free tourism.
Sheinbaum echoed the sentiment. “The US is definitely catching on, but the UK is where Dry January started and also where many nonalcoholic beverages have emerged,” she said.
“Cutting alcohol out of a vacation will make the journey more meaningful and fulfilling,” Dr. Subhash C. Pandey, director of the Alcohol Research Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told BBC Travel. He added that both preclinical and clinical studies suggest that alcohol does not have any beneficial effects on the body.
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