“People We Meet on Vacation” is called that because the story centers on how travel and vacations shape Poppy’s life through the people she connects with—especially Alex, but also the fleeting strangers and side characters they encounter on trips.

Title meaning in the story

  • The novel follows Poppy and Alex over a decade of shared summer trips, showing how each vacation—and the people around them—pushes their relationship and personal growth forward.
  • Reviews and summaries often highlight that the book explores friendship, love, and identity through travel, emphasizing that vacations become turning points because of who you’re with and who you cross paths with.

“People we meet” as a theme

  • Poppy is a travel writer, and part of her arc is realizing that what once made her happiest wasn’t just the destinations, but authentic connections with others while traveling.
  • Some readers note that the core is really about the two main characters more than random tourists, so the title also works a bit metaphorically: it’s about the one person you “meet on vacation” who changes everything.

Marketing and alternate title

  • In the US, the book is titled “People We Meet on Vacation,” but in the UK it was published as “You and Me on Vacation,” showing that publishers saw the “vacation” concept as central but tweaked the phrasing for market appeal.
  • Both titles frame the story as a travel-centered romance, signaling to readers that they’re getting a sunny, trip-based love story rather than a dark literary drama.

How readers interpret the title

  • Some reviewers argue the story is more about the people we take on vacation than random people we meet, but that the original title still fits as a catchy, evocative hook.
  • Others point out that the structure—jumping through different trips—makes each vacation feel like a snapshot of encounters, reinforcing the idea that who you travel with and who you run into can redirect your life.

In short, it’s called “People We Meet on Vacation” because vacations are the backdrop for key emotional encounters—and the title captures that idea in a memorable, marketable phrase.

TL;DR: The title ties together the travel setting, Poppy’s job as a travel writer, and the emotional impact of both Alex and the brief connections made on trips, while also serving as a strong hook chosen by publishers for romance readers.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.