As a student traveler, you probably have a sense of your personality and a sense of your priorities as you travel abroad.  But how might this after your time abroad? Keeping your travel preferences in mind can not only save you time on finding things you’d like to do, but helps overarchingly theme your time away. 

Serendipitous or Organized?

According to research conducted on serendipitous vs. organized travel (Huang), independent travel was surveyed and revealed that “tourists had a higher preference for travelling spontaneously than following a fixed and organized itinerary”. With this said, how might that point be relevant to study abroad students?

People have different personalities, which also flows into different styles of travel. In this specific study, the two types of travelers were then divided into three types depending on preferred activities, such as wanderer, tour-taker, and pre-planner.

Wanderers tended to not carry set plans during their travels, compared to pre-planners who designed itineraries (Huang). However, “among independent travelers, 80% of their vacation elements, including sub-destinations, attractions and activities, were neither specifically nor generally planned. Most independent travelers preferred to remain flexible” (Huang). 

Wanderer or a Planner? 

Perhaps you tend to let your fate dictate your global adventure, or maybe you prefer to organize your time most efficiently beforehand. Travel opens us up and generally make us more open-minded. Without the stress of the daily grind during time overseas, how do our personalities come through while traveling? 

Two common types are wanderers and planners. A wanderer type of traveler tends to let go of plans and welcome the idea of embracing the destination for what it is in person. They also like to have options and love spontaneity, such as enjoying spur-of-the-moment type of activities. If they do plan for something, they plan to have accessibility to multiple options. 

Travelers who consider themselves to be planners, appreciate knowing the ins and outs of the itinerary, and wish to be a part of the planning process. Planning can be exciting and strenuous, and to avoid confusion upon arrival, planners like having multiple options if things go differently. Planners may be open to wandering, but they have more purpose and like solidifying their plans as much as possible! 

It’s common that the way we prepare depends on the type of experience we’re planning to embark on. Many times, we might feel like a hybrid of both, where we’re more spontaneous on certain adventures compared to others. For students getting ready to study abroad, it’s recommended to research beforehand, but a spontaneous overnight trip might only require a few minutes of Google searches. 

When deciding on a destination to visit while studying abroad, focus on your strengths! How do you enjoy preparing for a getaway and what might you take away from another traveler’s personality? 

What To Expect with Gen Z? 

Not sure what you’d category you’d fit in? You may also consider how your generation affects your travel patterns as well. A study by New Horizons IV was conducted in 2018 on millennial and gen Z travel trends. According to the study, millenial and Gen Z travelers identified three factors that play a large role in determining their level of happiness during time abroad, which included destination, trip length, and activities. 

Within the travel industry, it seems that Gen Z is considerably more focused on activities and connecting with locals when participating in time abroad, compared to general site-seeing. This projection is supported by a survey in 2019 on U.S. attitudes to experiences, which indicates that valuing real world experiences and other cultures besides their own, are within the top five responses to motivating factors for experiences (Euromonitor International Lifestyles Survey 2019). 

What’s my Study Abroad mentality? 

While abroad, it can be beneficial to acknowledge which activities you tend to enjoy, no matter where you’re visiting. For some, that’s a visit to the museum, for others it’s a foodie tour, or thrill-seeking adventure. Regardless of your answer, consider what brings you the most enjoyment! Quite frankly, travel tends to always push your boundaries in some way or another, especially whilst navigating through an unfamiliar city or country, but knowing your preferences can alleviate time spent doing something you’re much of a fan about. 

Set intentions with yourself about what you're comfortable trying, and what you’d rather save for a later date. Study abroad tends to grant the pressure for trying every single thing possible in a host country, but understand that you have plenty more life to live, and plenty more opportunities to go back and try things you’ve missed. 

Life is a journey, and the same goes for travel. Traveling isn’t supposed to be straight-forward or always make the most sense. When considering your behavior styles overseas, remember that it doesn’t matter what category or preference you are, but that the time spent is well worth it and everything you hoped it would be. 

Though the aforementioned styles are different, the one thing that consistently remains the same is the joy that comes from travel. No matter where you fit on the spectrum, research-based or not, there’s no right or wrong way to travel because you can see the world in different ways depending on what angle you view them!

Do you want to take a closer look into letting go of expectations abroad and embracing changes that happen along the way? Check out our blog 3 Beautiful Realizations From Unexpected Travel Changes!

Sources

Huang, Wei-Jue, et. al. “To Plan or Not to Plan:” Serendipitous vs. Organized Travel, Travel and Tourism Research Association: Advancing Tourism Research Globally, 2010 International Conference, University of Massachusetts Amherst.  

Six millennial and gen Z travel trends we are tracking. New Horizons IV. Jul 30, 2018 - WYSE Travel Confederation.