Dustin Reason’s coffee table doesn’t host the latest iPhone or tablet but instead a collection of pictures and trinkets from his worldwide wanderings, ranging from rappelling to canyoning and backpacking from Norway to Venezuela and Thailand. Fiscally conservative but uniquely adventurous, the 35-year-old occupies the leading edge of the loosely banded millennial generation, generally encompassing anyone born between 1980 and 2000. “I want to live my life full of experiences, rather than things. I don’t have a mortgage or kids to tie me down yet,” said the Connecticut resident. “I don’t want to work until I’m 60 and procrastinate with traveling so I can’t fully enjoy someplace when I finally get there.”

It’s a common theme among those who travel with Contiki, said president Melissa da Silva of the group travel company geared toward 18- to 35-year-olds. “When you talk to millennials, they are more interested in creating memories than material objects. You have to remember that this generation came of age during a recession when people around them lost their life savings and those ‘bucket list’ items, like travel, were never going to happen,” she said. “Millennials are not going to wait to start.” Thanks to Easy Pay, a convenient payment plan similar to “travel layaway,” many Contiki customers are able to chip away at an average tour price of $2,200 slowly. Da Silva says less than a quarter of Contiki travelers surveyed incur debt to vacation, and most are young professionals who have been saving for their trips. Although budgeting properly may be a priority, it’s not the primary focus for this demographic when booking said Da Silva, citing her own focus groups and research from Skift, a travel industry data research firm. Recent Contiki marketing efforts shifted away from dollar signs — and even destinations in some part — toward identifying style of travel. “Do I want to check all of these iconic things off my list, relax and chill on a beach, or get culturally curious and really delve into a local way of life? We looked at how the Contiki consumer shopped, and we redefined how we address the consumer, with much better alignment,” she said. For travelers like Kate Grieves of Massachusetts, it’s all about “going on a trip and not a ‘vacation,’” she said. The 32-year-old saves her tax refund not for sand between her toes but in favor of cultural discoveries like those made on a recent trip to China. Standing in Tiananmen Square and reliving the events she only recalls from news reports as a grade-schooler or via YouTube videos was much different in real life. “Stories and videos are just interpretations — you have to be there. Social and economic situations have changed so much in the past 30 years,” she said. “Growing up, war was something your parents talked about. Now I work with kids born after 9/11. You have to visit where you can, when you can.” Although money may be tight with her income as a social worker, Grieves said travel will always be important to her after experiencing a college semester abroad. “I learned about ‘The Troubles’ and the situation in Northern Ireland during these long rides home from Dublin. We would save money to take a cab not because it was easy but because the conversations with the drivers were so fascinating,” she said. Cultural connections like these are part of a paradox explored by Skift in the January 2016 report “Portrait of the Millennial Traveler: A Study in Contradictions.” The generation ready with a selfie stick in hand is famed for its social media habits, but “what they really crave is deeper real-life human connections when traveling,” writes author Jeremy Kressmann. “Another common assumption is that millennials are the primary force behind the meteoric rise of sharing service Airbnb. Yet recent surveys suggest they are less interested in apartment sharing,” as opposed to immersive experiences that connect them with local people and other travelers. That includes a 2015 Skift survey of millennials that found just less than 4 percent used Airbnb for their last leisure trip, and an overwhelming majority of about 33 percent paid for a hotel. June McDougall, managing director, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, counts on people making new friends at the historic property, which recently underwent a $95 million renovation geared toward the millennial traveler. “The technology component and the infrastructure had to change, and we did so with this generation in mind. We invested in the bandwidth for mobile devices, video streaming, and we have smart TVs with Spotify in guestrooms,” McDougall explained. “But we also took a traditional design and turned it into a contemporary design with vibrant light and colors, and the main lobby has become more of a living room. We moved the restaurant toward the lobby, so you hear upbeat music from everywhere, and you can play chess or have a drink while you’re waiting for someone or charge your phone at a community table.” One of her favorite parts of transitioning from a traditional Boston Brahmin aesthetic with dark halls and dark-wood floors to something more suited for the young professionals market is the “conversation-starter” pieces, like birdcage chairs in the lobby. “They’re really signature pieces — fun and flirty. They’re a hit with people taking pictures and selfies of their vacation for Instagram and Facebook,” said McDougall. For a demographic divided into those who grew up idealizing President Reagan or President Clinton and those who remember writing research papers using card catalogs as opposed to the internet, pinpointing this generation’s travel interests and trends can be tricky. “The people who are 25 to 34 or so are a bit of a sub-generation; one half trends toward Facebook and the other is even more about Snapchat and Instagram,” said Sebastian Neylan, director of online marketing, Lonely Planet. “What they all don’t want is to be seen as budget travelers. They’re doing the same thing as their predecessors, backpackers, were. They’re saying, ‘Let’s take easyJet or Ryanair and not spend a lot and make our own different tours. We still feel like independent travelers.’” So how does a guidebook company appeal to autonomy? By truly catering to the self-made tour as opposed to strict routes. Neylan pointed to the Lonely Planet app’s city guides with offline maps focusing on the five senses. “I just turned 29. I just pick up my phone when I’m traveling (as my guide),” he said. “What we don’t want is for our content to be dictating people’s trips. We really want them to find their own way as much as they do.” As for Dustin Reason, his travel dreams include sharing the joys of discovery with others, possibly as a guide someday. “I enjoy the backpacking style not because it’s cheaper but because you meet some really great people. I’ve made great memories with total strangers. My dream job is one that keeps me on the road.” That is, of course, if he has WiFi every now and then to keep up with his friends around the world.