This paper examines how tourists view destinations by drawing together two key components of tourism research, which are tourists and destinations. The study is based on a series of focus groups with youth hostel guests at three locations in New Zealand. Analysis of the focus group transcripts reveals that destinations are expressed and discussed primarily in trip‐related terms rather than with regard to the place attributes stressed in much of the literature and that the concept of destination is seen to be a very personal and fluid one. The conceptual and practical implications of these findings are then explored. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.