Selfies and sacrifices: a profile of the Gen Z traveller

That’s according to the results of a global survey conducted by Booking.com, which aims to tease out the travel habits of Generation Z, a cohort of coming-of-age young adults between the ages of 16-24.

For the report, Booking.com polled 5,456 respondents in 29 markets including Brazil, China, France, India, Australia, the UK, US, Canada, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

The findings show that overall, travel figures high on this generation’s minds, with 67 percent globally saying they’re excited at the prospect of discovering the world. But some countries have greater wanderlust than others. At 91 percent, for instance, respondents from Colombia expressed the highest amount of enthusiasm for travel, followed by India and China (tied at 82 percent), and Argentina (80 percent).

Globally, travel and seeing the world outranked higher education, homeownership and retirement funds among Gen Z respondents when it comes to their spending priorities.

According to the survey, young travellers in India, Thailand and Russia are the most likely to prioritize spending on travel rather than material possessions.

More than half of the respondents are also adrenaline junkies, with 56 percent expressing a desire for adventure travel such as paragliding or bungee jumping.

When it comes to that timeless travel rite of passage of solo travel, only 18 percent globally expressed an interest strapping on a backpack or taking a gap year. But that figure doubled among respondents in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Across the board, about half of Gen Z respondents around the world said they were aware of the environmental impact of travel and would make efforts to green their travel.

The biggest source of inspiration for Gen Z travellers, meanwhile, include Instagram, celebrities and other influencers.

And when it comes to the most selfie-snapping, Instagram-happy shutterbugs, it turns out that travellers from South Korea, India and Argentina are most likely to take more than 50 photos of their vacation — a day.