A beautiful room can make a trip comfortable. What gives it a place in family lore is harder to arrange: the unfamiliar dish everyone agreed to try, the climb that seemed considerably less appealing at the bottom.
Those are the kinds of experiences at the center of a new study from Butterfield & Robinson, the luxury active-travel company. In findings released November 12, 87% of respondents said they would choose spending on travel memories over acquiring more physical possessions. Seventy-nine percent identified experiencing something new or for the first time as a reason a journey becomes unforgettable.
For travelers accustomed to excellent hotels and carefully managed logistics, the findings suggest that comfort may make a vacation pleasant but comfort alone doesn’t make one vacation distinguishable from the next.
Beyond the Familiar
Butterfield & Robinson’s Memory Imprint Study surveyed 1,019 leisure travelers in the United States and Canada during the third quarter of 2026. Respondents were ages 30 to 75, had annual household incomes of at least $150,000 and had traveled internationally for leisure within the previous three years.
It is a survey of affluent travelers, rather than a study limited to the ultra-wealthy. It also reflects what respondents say they remember and value, not a clinical measure of memory. The company commissioned the research in conjunction with its “Impossible to Forget” campaign.
The results offer an interesting picture of what people want from time away. Eighty-three percent said visiting somewhere new was more memorable than returning to a familiar destination. Thirty-seven percent said stepping outside their comfort zone helped make a trip memorable, rising to 44% among millennials.
The point need not be to abandon a beloved summer address. For a family that returns to the same place each year, the more practical question may be whether the days have become as predictable as the destination. A different route, a local teacher or an activity shared across generations can change the character of a familiar setting without requiring a new continent.
Participation Has Its Appeal
Other travel research points toward a similar appetite for involvement. In its 2026 travel trends coverage, American Express Travel reports that 70% of surveyed travelers are more likely to book workshops or immersive activities than in previous years. The company calls the trend “sight-doing.”
For a luxury itinerary, that might mean allowing a cooking lesson to occupy an afternoon rather than squeezing it between lunch and the next reservation. Or choosing a walk with someone who knows the landscape over another transfer past it.
There is an important difference between being engaged and being overextended. A multigenerational group does not need identical appetites for exertion, and memorable travel should not depend on exhausting its least enthusiastic participant. The appealing version leaves room for choice: a longer ride for one traveler, a shorter walk for another, and something worth discussing when they meet again.
The Story Comes Home, Too
The pleasure of an experience can continue through its retelling. In research published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Amit Kumar and Thomas Gilovich examined this distinction across eight studies. Participants were more inclined to talk about experiential purchases than material ones and reported greater enjoyment from those conversations.
That academic work is separate from Butterfield & Robinson’s survey. It offers a possible explanation for the appeal of a journey that becomes a shared reference point, revisited long after the luggage is unpacked.
