Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
travel trumps traditional lifestyle for millennials
Most would rather have experiences than things
GONE are the days when people want to marry, have children and own a big house. Instead, millennials want more time to travel and be adventurous.
A poll by Flash Pack that surveyed 3 000 people from Britain and the US within the 30-40 age group, revealed that 50% would postpone having children and 49% would delay marriage to satisfy their affection for travel.
Around 77% believed that seeing the world was a priority and 82% craved amazing life experiences.
Only 20% hoped to get married, 18% wanted to have babies, and 17% found the prospect of buying a home intriguing.
Closer to home, many South Africans also wanted to delay marriage and babies to explore more.
A poll taken on Instagram of 30 participants revealed that 86% would choose adventure or travel over starting a family. One of the participants, Anje Rautenbach, is a 33-year-old travel blogger from Port Elizabeth.
Rautenbach decided she wanted to explore the world rather than settling down and having children, almost a decade ago.
“I did not wake up one day and say I wanted to choose adventure over settling. It happened after I moved to South Korea for three years in 2009.
“I don’t dream about purchasing a house, settling with a husband and a child. Instead, my dreams are all about having the freedom to move around.
“After a while, you get used to doing your own thing and creating your own rules. I want to be in control of my time. Maybe I will regret it by the time I’m 70, but maybe I won’t? It’s a gamble filled with experiences I’m willing to take.”
South African experts share the same sentiments about millennials in the country.
Teresa Richardson, the managing director of The Travel Corporation in South Africa said a study, The Good Life by Trafalgar, revealed that 74% of people believed having experiences was more important than having things.
“This desire to seek out the good life is an important reason why people of all ages are prioritising seeing the world and investing in adventures, over more traditional priorities such as buying a house or settling down,” she said.
Sue Garrett, Flight Centre GM marketing & products, said they saw South African professionals in their 30s and 40s prioritising travel over other more traditional milestones.
“The increased popularity of solo travel, especially for women, has made the world of travel more accessible than ever and the shifting of priorities and lifestyles, valuing experiences over things, for example, can also account for this trend.”