'Hi Mum, no dinner for me tonight, I'll be skydiving in Bangkok': Gen Z and millennials - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – More Generation Z and young millennials in Singapore are diving headlong into solo adventures – the more uncharted the territory, the better. Many are also posting about it to pay their way.

Spontaneous travel, defined as setting off on a trip without a fixed plan, has taken off alongside revenge travel, post pandemic.

Nomadic in nature, these spontaneous travellers subvert the leisurely rulebook of shopping, feasting and lush hotel resorts with niche, adrenaline-fuelled experiences.

The trend is largely subscribed to by backpackers, who prefer to wander the outdoors without a guidebook, keeping to lightweight baggage and tight budgets.

They tend to be of university age to youth under 30, who take flight whenever and to wherever they want, even if it means having to hustle for extra income on the side as content creators and micro-influencers to fund the travel.

In 2023, South-east Asia-based travel website Klook found in a study that 83 per cent of Singaporean Gen Z and millennial travellers were willing to invest in experiences – 63 per cent on nature and outdoor activities, 51 per cent on theme parks, and 56 per cent on massages and hot springs.

Studying 2023 data, travel metasearch platform Skyscanner found that up to a third of Singaporeans – 31 per cent –booked trips a mere week before flying off.

In a survey of 1,000 Singaporeans aged 18 to 34 the same year, Skyscanner also found that when it comes to spending priorities, Gen Zs and young millennials favoured experiences over comfort, allocating 39 per cent of their budget to food, 36 per cent to experiences, more than 15 per cent to accommodation and 10 per cent to flight tickets.

At 27, Singaporean Basanth Sadasivan has visited 195 countries.

He compares travel to an addiction: Once is never enough.

He continues to fly up to twice a month, usually on weekends.

His trips have taken him to observe emperor penguins in Patagonia, ride a dog sled in Norway and see the Amazon rainforests. One of the last nooks of the globe he has yet to visit is the blistery wilderness of Antarctica.

“I have not been to the South Pole yet because cruises there take two weeks. I get seasick and have to stock up on medication,” says the civil servant, who is a brand ambassador for Skyscanner.

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