The Guys Trip Is Getting a Makeover — and the Tourism Industry Is Asleep at the Wheel
For decades, the American guys trip has been filtered through a Hollywood lens. Pop culture sold a particular version of male group travel — one built on casinos, open bars, and blacked-out nights in Las Vegas — and the travel industry largely believed it. The problem? That version never squared with reality, and a landmark new report is finally proving it with hard data.
Men's group travel is on the rise, but the travel industry has barely noticed. That is the central finding of the first annual ManTripping Guys Trip Report from men's travel publication ManTripping.com. Released in October 2026, the report delivers something the sector has never had before: a rigorous, supply-side look at what tourism and travel professionals are actually witnessing on the ground when groups of men show up looking for a trip worth taking.
The report functions as a semi-annual industry survey capturing what the supply side of guys trip travel is actually seeing — destinations, brands, attractions, hotels, and travel PR across North America. That framing matters. This isn't a consumer poll asking men what they wish they could do. It's an interrogation of the people who manage and market the places men actually go — and what they're hearing from those men when they arrive or inquire.
Who Was Surveyed and Why It Matters
The survey drew responses from 167 tourism and travel-industry leaders spanning at least 15 states, Canada and Mexico. Among those who identified their organizations, the bulk were destination marketing organizations and travel PR professionals — the people who shape how destinations are marketed — and respondents who shared their location cover at least 15 U.S. states, plus Canada and Mexico.
The distinction between a consumer survey and an industry insider survey is more than methodological. When destination managers, tourism board directors, and travel PR professionals report what they're seeing, those observations are grounded in bookings, website analytics, inquiry volume, and repeat visitor patterns. They're harder to dismiss than self-reported aspirations from a consumer survey. ManTripping describes the study as an industry insider survey rather than a consumer poll, and each figure reflects the respondents who answered that specific question.
The Numbers: What the Industry Is Actually Seeing
Demand Is Up, Across the Board
A full 96% of respondents say demand for men's group travel is up or steady, with growth outnumbering decline nine to one, and not one respondent reporting a significant decline. In a travel market that has faced everything from post-pandemic turbulence to inflation-driven pullbacks, those numbers stand out. The guys trip is not a fringe phenomenon — it's a durable, growing segment that has so far defied the headwinds battering other parts of leisure travel.
Adventure and Fishing Have Surpassed Golf
Here's the headline that should be pinned to every tourism board conference room wall: adventure, at 63%, and fishing, at 53%, now outrank golf, at 50%, as the most-requested guys-trip activities. For generations, the golf weekend was synonymous with the male group getaway. Scottsdale, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Pinehurst — entire regional economies were built on the assumption that groups of guys would show up to play 36 holes, drink beer in a cart, and call it a trip. That assumption is now statistically outdated.
That's not to say golf is dead. At 50%, it remains a powerhouse draw for male group travel. But its position at the top of the activity hierarchy has been supplanted by pursuits that require more physical engagement, more open terrain, and more of a genuine shared challenge. Adventure travel — whitewater rafting, zip lines, rock climbing, backcountry hiking, mountain biking — and fishing are now driving the conversation about where men want to go and what they want to do when they get there.
The Vegas Myth, Officially Debunked
If the golf finding is a surprise, the casino and nightlife figure is a gut punch to an entire marketing paradigm. Casino and nightlife rank near the bottom of requested activities at just 6%, upending the Vegas-and-casino stereotype. That number should prompt a serious rethink at any destination that has been packaging itself as the premier guys trip spot based on its nightlife scene or proximity to a gaming floor.
This doesn't mean men aren't visiting Las Vegas or similar destinations. It means that when tourism professionals survey what men are actually requesting and responding to, the neon-and-slots package isn't registering. Men want to be outdoors, active, and in motion — not seated at a blackjack table or shuffling between bottle service and a hotel pool.
The Strategy Gap: A Massive Missed Opportunity
Perhaps the most damning statistic in the entire report is this: only 6% of destinations have a dedicated guys-trip strategy, even as one in five say they are now actively considering one. Read that again. The industry collectively acknowledges that demand is up, that the segment is growing, and that men are traveling in groups with real spending power — and still, 94% of destinations have no coherent plan to attract, serve, or retain them as a market segment.
The 20% who are now "actively considering" a strategy suggests the report is landing in fertile ground. There's a window of opportunity here for destination marketing organizations willing to move quickly. The destinations that develop genuine, data-backed guys trip programming in the next 12 to 24 months will have a meaningful first-mover advantage over those that continue to ignore the segment or lump it in with general leisure travel.
The Forces Behind the Shift
The report doesn't just document what's happening — it attempts to explain why. The findings tie the shift to broader forces: the share of U.S. adults who drink is holding at its lowest point since Gallup began tracking in 1939, outdoor recreation reached a record 183.2 million Americans in 2025, and multigenerational travel climbed 17% year over year.
These aren't isolated data points. They reflect a genuine cultural shift in how American men conceptualize what a good trip looks like. The sober-curious movement has removed alcohol as the default organizing principle of group travel. Outdoor recreation has become a mass-market phenomenon, not the province of hardcore enthusiasts. And the multigenerational growth figure points to a quieter revolution in the structure of the guys trip itself — one that is increasingly being defined by the relationship between fathers and sons, not just by friend groups looking to cut loose.
The Rise of the Drive-To Destination
Many of the most-requested activities — fishing, adventure, breweries, camping — are drive-to experiences that require no expensive airfare, pointing to accessible regional destinations such as the Great Lakes and the Midwest. This is a crucial practical dimension of the report's findings. Groups of men coordinating a shared trip face real logistical friction: aligning schedules, managing budget disparities, agreeing on a destination. Drive-to trips solve multiple problems at once. They're cheaper, easier to coordinate, more flexible in timing, and often better suited to activity-based itineraries that don't depend on a flight hub.
For regional destinations — particularly those in the upper Midwest, the Appalachian corridor, the Great Lakes basin, and the Ozarks — this is actionable intelligence. These are the areas where guys trip demand is likely being captured organically, without specific marketing infrastructure, simply because the outdoor resources are there. The question is which of these destinations will build the programming and digital content to convert that organic interest into bookings, repeat visits, and a defined brand identity around male group travel.
What Industry Professionals Are Actually Saying
The Experience-First Mindset
Among the most compelling material in the report is the direct testimony from tourism professionals who are in daily contact with the male group travel segment. Their observations add qualitative texture to the quantitative findings.
Kelli Bloomquist of US Ghost Adventures noted that "The shift is from 'where should we go?' to 'what are we going to experience together?' We are seeing strong interest from multi-generational groups, especially father-son trips." That pivot — from destination-first to experience-first — is perhaps the most important behavioral shift the report captures. Men aren't opening a map and picking a city. They're deciding on an activity or an emotional outcome and then working backward to find a place that delivers it.
This has profound implications for how destinations communicate with male travelers. A homepage that leads with geography, hotel amenities, and restaurant recommendations may be speaking an entirely different language from the one men are shopping in. The better pitch leads with the activity, the challenge, and the story the trip will produce.
The Father-Son Revolution in Male Group Travel
The report's emergence of father-son travel as a distinct and growing subcategory of the guys trip is one of its most emotionally resonant findings. Naresh Dahal of Everest Luxury Holidays offered this observation: "The fathers I work with often say the same thing: 'This is the only trip my son and I have actually talked on.'" That's not marketing copy. That's a window into something genuine — the way a shared physical challenge or unfamiliar environment strips away the distractions and power dynamics of daily life and creates space for real conversation.
Intergenerational travel allows men to share stories, ask for advice, learn new skills, and embark on outdoor adventures, free from the conventions of modern society that cause men to second-guess their nature. These trips also create lasting family stories, where shared experiences and unique adventures contribute to cherished family narratives.
The practical dimension here is significant. A father-son fishing trip to a remote lake, a mountain bike expedition through the Rockies, or a multi-day backpacking loop in the Shenandoah — these aren't just vacations. They're deliberate investments in a relationship. The report's finding that multigenerational travel climbed 17% year-over-year suggests that this motivation is becoming a primary driver of group travel decisions for men in their 40s and 50s, not a niche pursuit.
The COVID Acceleration That Nobody Tracked Until Now
Laura Argenbright of Laurel Highlands Tourism in Pennsylvania noted that "Guys researching trips significantly rose during and since COVID due to the outdoor nature of our region," and that 41% of their website users were male in 2025. That figure — nearly half of all website visitors being male — is extraordinary for a regional destination, and it suggests that outdoor-focused areas may have benefited from a pandemic-era behavioral shift that never fully reversed. Men who discovered hiking, fishing, camping, and other outdoor pursuits during the COVID years largely kept those habits, and they're now planning group trips around them.
Laurel Highlands — the mountainous region of southwestern Pennsylvania that encompasses Ohiopyle State Park, Fallingwater, and some of the best whitewater and mountain biking in the eastern United States — is exactly the kind of destination that benefits from the trend the report documents. It's drivable from Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Washington D.C., it offers the full suite of adventure activities men are now prioritizing, and it pairs well with the craft brewery and local food culture that rounds out a modern guys weekend.
Golf's Evolution, Not Its Extinction
Even as adventure and fishing have pulled ahead in the activity rankings, the report's industry voices make clear that golf isn't fading — it's evolving. Caitlin Corbin of Visit Newport Beach observed that "For men, the golf trip has evolved from a weekend escape into a full cultural experience, blending competition, camaraderie, and premium hospitality." That framing captures something real: the premium golf weekend has become a richer, more layered experience than a simple round or two on a public course. Destinations like Newport Beach are packaging golf with dining, coastal access, and experiential hospitality in a way that appeals to men who want substance beyond the scorecard.
The practical implication is that destinations relying on golf as their primary draw for male group travelers shouldn't panic — but they should diversify their pitch. The men who are choosing golf at 50% are likely the same men who might also fish, hike, or explore a local craft brewery scene. A destination that markets golf and nothing else is leaving activity-conversion revenue on the table.
Outdoor Regions Seeing Organic Demand Growth
Shores and Islands Ohio noted that guys trips have always been an important visitor market for their region and that the increased interest in adventure and fishing — two things their Lake Erie region is best known for — was reflected in survey results, to the point that they now feature three customized getaway itineraries for guys trips directly on their website. That kind of proactive content strategy — building dedicated trip-planning resources specifically for male group travelers — is exactly the type of move that puts a destination ahead of the 94% that still have no formal strategy at all.
James Hills and the Data-Driven Case for the Modern Guys Trip
James Hills, publisher of ManTripping.com, put the report's purpose plainly: "For nearly two decades, the conversation about guys trips has been driven by movies instead of data. What we are actually seeing is men choosing the outdoors, choosing experiences they can share, and increasingly choosing to travel with their fathers and sons. This is less The Hangover and more a weekend of fishing, hiking, and real connection."
Hills' reference to *The Hangover* is pointed. The 2009 film — and its sequels — codified a specific image of what the male group trip looks like, and that image has clung to the category ever since. Travel marketers, destination managers, and even men themselves have operated under the shadow of that archetype. The ManTripping report is, at its core, an argument that this archetype has always been more fiction than fact, and that the data now exists to prove it.
The Bigger Picture: Outdoor Recreation and the Sober Shift
The macro trends the report cites deserve to be taken seriously, because they aren't temporary blips. The Gallup figure on alcohol consumption — the lowest share of drinking American adults since 1939 — reflects a multigenerational shift in attitude toward drinking, particularly among men under 40. When alcohol is no longer the default social lubricant, trip planning logic changes. The activities themselves have to carry more weight. Fishing carries weight. A summit carry weight. A 25-mile mountain bike loop carries weight. A casino floor does not.
The outdoor recreation figure is equally significant. Outdoor recreation reached a record 183.2 million Americans in 2025. That's a majority of the adult population. The outdoors is no longer a niche interest — it's the default leisure preference of mainstream America. For male group travelers specifically, this means that the activity infrastructure most relevant to guys trips — fishing access, trail networks, whitewater corridors, hunting grounds — is increasingly the infrastructure that drives destination selection.
What Destinations Should Do Right Now
The report's 6% strategy figure is both a damning indictment and a clear opportunity. For destination marketing organizations, the playbook suggested by the data is relatively straightforward, even if execution requires real commitment.
First, build dedicated content. Creating customized getaway itineraries for guys trips on destination websites is a low-cost, high-impact move that few destinations have made. Men planning group trips do significant online research, and a destination that speaks directly to that audience — with activity-specific itineraries, group-size logistics, lodging recommendations, and local outfitter connections — will capture that research traffic in a way that generic leisure travel content cannot.
Second, lead with experience, not place. The report's finding that men are now asking "what are we going to experience together" before they ask "where should we go" should reshape destination marketing from the ground up. The destination is the vehicle. The experience is the product.
Third, treat fishing and adventure as headline acts, not supporting attractions. At 63% and 53% respectively, these activities are driving demand more than golf, more than nightlife, and far more than any urban cultural offering. Destinations with serious fishing or adventure infrastructure — and there are dozens across the country that haven't fully monetized it — have a genuine edge.
Fourth, build for multigenerational travel explicitly. Father-son trips are now a major driver of male group travel decisions, and they have distinct planning needs: age-appropriate activity ranges, lodging that accommodates mixed-generation groups, and experiences that create the kind of shared challenge that produces genuine conversation. The destinations that program specifically for this dynamic will capture a segment that is currently underserved almost everywhere.
Looking Ahead: An Annual Benchmark, Finally
This is the first year of what ManTripping intends as an annual report, with follow-up reports planned on fishing and hunting, golf, adventure travel, and father-son travel. The decision to publish this data annually is itself significant. The travel industry has operated with almost no longitudinal data on male group travel as a distinct segment. A consistent, year-over-year dataset will allow destinations, brands, and travel professionals to track how demand evolves, which activities are gaining or losing traction, and whether the industry's strategy gap begins to close.
For now, that gap is enormous. The data is unambiguous: men are traveling in groups, they're prioritizing outdoor experiences and meaningful connection over nightlife, and the destinations best positioned to serve them are largely the ones that have been doing so organically — without a strategy — for years. The next move belongs to the industry. The question is whether 2027's version of this report will show 12% of destinations with a strategy, or 25%, or whether the number will barely budge. Based on the historical pace at which tourism boards adapt to emerging segments, the men planning their next fishing trip in the Great Lakes or their next father-son adventure in the Appalachians probably shouldn't hold their breath waiting for a dedicated welcome mat. But it's coming.
