If not now, then never’

Conceptualising the grad trip

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12697789
AutoresYinn Shan Cheong (0000-0002-3665-0617, National University of Singapore, Singapore), Hye Lim Sin (0000-0001-7850-993X, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore, autor de correspondencia), Tou Chuang Chang (National University of Singapore, Singapore)
Año2023
Volumen23
Número4
Páginas272-292
Fecha de publicación2023-10-12
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaTourist Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1468-7976 • E-ISSN: 1741-3206
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14687976231203751
OpenAlexW4387578218
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas65

The grad trip entails travelling overseas with one’s closest group of friends to commemorate the completion of tertiary and formal education and is bookended by the carefree freedom in one’s youth and the commencement of an adulthood defined by formal employment. This article conceptualises the grad trip as a phenomenon in youth tourism, based on empirical study of how it is experienced in Singapore. Our conceptualisation of the timing and duration that defines a grad trip demonstrates the dominance of time productivity reflective of Singapore’s work culture. Drawing on a precedence of studies based in the Western concept of the gap year, we reveal commonalities in employment society’s influence on time for youth tourism. While the gap year seeks to maximise the length of time offered by a ‘gap’, the grad trip contrarily minimises the culturally perceived wastefulness of a prolonged break

Demographic economics · Dominance (genetics · Duration (music · Economic geography · Economic growth · Economics · Epistemology · Phenomenon · Political science · Productivity · Sociology · Tourism · Hospitality and Tourism Education · Law · Socioeconomic Development in Asia · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development