Market Updates

Trend Spotlight: Rural Run-Cations for Gen Z
29 October 2025, Essen

Strava runners across the hill in summer

This autumn, Airbnb and Strava have announced a strategic collaboration to promote what they call “rural run-cations” — stay-cations centered around scenic countryside runs rather than urban pavements. The campaign specifically targets younger runners, primarily Gen Z, who are showing a growing interest in combining travel, fitness and meaningful connection.

Key insights:

According to joint research by Airbnb and Strava, about 74 % of 18-29 year-olds have either already planned or are considering a countryside running trip.
Some 56 % of this demographic say they are feeling uninspired by urban running routes — citing factors like air pollution, crowded pavements and a lack of scenic variation.
On the platform side, Gen Z now constitutes one-third of Strava’s user base (with a 30 % increase in the past 18 months).
Airbnb and Strava are promoting five rural UK destinations as part of this initiative (e.g., Forest of Dean, South Downs, Fife, Hope Valley, rural Cambridgeshire) and even include “sweet-treat” incentives via local bakeries for post-run rewards.

Airbnb livingroom in luxury villa late summer

Why this matters:
For us at Avalon Advisory — working at the intersection of lifestyle, sport, travel, and brand-experience — this development signals several important shifts:

Experience is the new asset class: Young consumers increasingly allocate time and money to “movement + place” experiences rather than purely material goods. Brands and investors should take note of this shift in consumption behaviour.
Health, travel and community converge: The blend of fitness, social interaction and travel points to opportunities for holistic lifestyle offerings — relevant for brands in sport, hospitality, premium consumer, and wellness segments.
Rural versus urban reconfiguration: The movement away from city-centred experiences toward nature, open space and less-used terrain opens new geographies and asset types (e.g., rural hospitality, active-tourism real estate) worth exploring.
Collaborative brand ecosystems: The Airbnb-Strava model is a textbook case of cross-category partnerships (travel + fitness + local micro-business) creating differentiated experiences and stories. Investors and companies should look for similar “tri-sector” synergies.

Outlook for 2025/26:
As we move to the end of 2025 and look ahead, two questions arise:

Can this trend scale beyond UK Gen Z to global active-lifestyle segments (e.g., Europe & DACH markets)?
Will other verticals and geographies adopt the “run-cation” blueprint into different sport/travel hybrids (e.g., cycling getaways, HIIT retreats, mountain-wellness escapes)? Industry participants should watch for these expansions.

At Avalon Advisory, this trend aligns with our focus on “sport/lifestyle + brand + investment”. Whether for clients in athletic-apparel, active-hospitality, or consumer-travel, the implications span both deal sourcing and value-creation strategy.

Source: Strava Press

Tags: Airbnb, Strava, Brand Marketing, Market Updates, Investment, Running, Travel, Holiday

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