Bigger Budgets, Bolder Trips: Klook Finds 88% of Millennials and Gen Z Keeping Travel Spending Strong in 2026

PRNewswire
Singapore, February 11: Global economic uncertainty is not dampening global travelers' desire to travel. New findings from Klook's Travel Pulse 2026 [1] reveal that Millennial and Gen Z travelers are spending more on travel, traveling not just domestically but also internationally, and reshaping how and where they explore. New findings in Klook's Travel Pulse 2026 reveal strong international travel intent, rising experience-led spending, and a shift toward multi-destination journeys, with Asia Pacific travelers leading the way.

According to the study, 88% of global travelers plan to increase or maintain their travel budgets in 2026. Asia Pacific (APAC) travelers have a 50% higher intention to increase travel spending than those in Europe and the US, cementing the region's position as the world's growth engine for travel. Travel intent also remains steadfast, with nine in 10 global travelers planning an international trip in 2026. Of these, 61% expect to travel in the first half of the year, up from 50% last year.
"Travel has remained resilient despite the rising cost of living. What we are witnessing is a fundamental shift in how travelers evaluate value," said Marcus Yong, Vice President, Global Marketing at Klook. "Instead of cutting back, they are spending smarter, prioritizing richer experiences, flexible itineraries, and deeper discovery. They seek experiential value that goes far beyond simply ticking destinations off a checklist."
[1] Klook Travel Pulse is an annual global consumer research uncovering emerging travel behaviours and sentiment from Millennials and Gen Z which makes up Klook's core user base and the dominant force in the global travel market. In its fourth edition, the survey covers 11,000 consumers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom and USA.
Experiences Over Everything
Klook data reveals a clear shift in how travelers prioritize their spending. When faced with rising costs, travelers are choosing to cut back on shopping and material purchases rather than on activities and experiences, a trend that is most evident in APAC.
APAC travelers are driving this experience-first mindset, being nearly twice as likely than their counterparts in Europe and the US to increase spending on experiences. They are extremely willing to pay more on experiences across every category, positioning APAC as a leading driver of experience-led travel.
Travel Re-Routes: Familiar Anchors and Broader Horizons
Rather than choosing between familiar destinations and new ones, travelers are increasingly doing both in the same trip. Two-thirds of travelers plan to visit multiple destinations per trip, marking a clear shift away from single-stop itineraries. Major cities are no longer the end goal, they are gateways that allow travelers to extend their journeys beyond familiar destinations.
APAC Gen Z travelers are leading this shift. They favor faster-paced, densely packed itineraries, actively venture beyond mainstream hotspots, and show stronger intent to discover lesser-known locales.
Japan remains one of the most considered destinations globally, but demand is increasingly spreading beyond major cities into secondary locations such as Yokohama, Hiroshima, and Nagoya. This reflects a growing preference for destinations that offer breathing room, cultural depth, and more distinctive local experiences.
Across markets, travelers cite authentic local experiences (42%), the opportunity to discover hidden gems (39%), and affordability (37%) as the top drivers for exploring lesser-known spots. Discovery is no longer driven by novelty alone, but by values, access, and depth.
This travel pattern extends beyond Asia, with emerging destinations across Australia (Cairns, Hobart), Europe (Baix Llobregat, Tromsø) and the Middle East (Sharjah, Hurghada) gaining traction among travelers seeking differentiation over repetition.
Social Influence Meets Artificial Intelligence: A Dual Engine Powering Discovery and Action
Travel discovery and planning are now being powered by the inspiration from social media, and the practicality of artificial intelligence (AI).
Social media remains the primary engine for influence, with 80% of global travelers saying it actively influences the destinations or experiences they book. Critically, social content is now a trust-builder, giving travelers the confidence to explore new destinations and pursue experiences.
AI has rapidly emerged as a travel planning tool, now widely used by 91% of global travelers. However, its role remains largely functional. Most common use cases for AI are trip-related tasks such as research, translation, organizing itineraries, and budget management.
Together, this combination creates a powerful loop: social content sparks the initial travel desire, and AI helps travelers apply practical filters such as affordability, ease of getting around, and time required, before committing. This signals a definitive shift from viral inspiration to validated discovery.
2026 is shaping up to be a year of more intentional and distributed travel. For the industry, it marks a decisive shift: discovery is no longer a nice-to-have, but an engine redefining where, how, and why people travel.
About Klook:
Klook is a leading pan-regional experiences platform in Asia Pacific, purpose built to digitalize experiences and make them accessible to every traveler. Our mission is to build the digital infrastructure for the global experience economy -- empowering merchants to share their passions and travelers to discover the heartbeat of each destination. We operate a mobile-first, curated platform featuring diverse experiences across global destinations.
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