Troye Sivan on His Tour Must-Haves (His Boyfriend, Pup and More!) and Supporting Pal Taylor Swift

Troye Sivan always finds a way to make touring feel like home.

Whether it’s making surprise appearances at a stadium with Taylor Swift or performing across the world for his own tour, the 24-year-old singer owns the stage. While he’s on the road, he keeps the people — and dog! — he loves by his side.

“I think touring is one of the things you have to learn how to do,” Sivan tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It is such a weird lifestyle because you’re in a different place every single day, and you’re living off buses and in hotels. If you can get into a rhythm and into a flow, it becomes your life.”

Whether it’s bringing along his boyfriend or adorable dog Nash, Sivan says having that bit of company “definitely helps” when he’s far away on the road.

“It’s one thing to go and see a city out of cars and buses, but when you walk, I think that’s when you really get a sense of where you are and feel like you’re a lot more present,” Sivan says.

The singer is set to embark on the Australia and New Zealand leg of his Bloom Tour, along with a stop on the Live at Aloft Hotels Homecoming Tour.

The Homecoming Tour is Aloft’s way of continuing to support the artist community by taking musicians back to the locations that made them who they are today, as well as giving the fans that supported them from the beginning a chance to reconnect with their hometown headliners in an intimate setting.

Sivan says he’s excited to head home to Perth, Australia — where he grew up — to play an intimate, free show at Aloft Perth on Sept. 15.

“First thing I do when I get back is probably drive around the neighborhood I grew up in and go to my house and hang out with my best friend who still lives there,” he says. “It’s gonna be a very special experience and a really special show. And I’m really excited.”

Fans can R.S.V.P. for a stop on the Live at Aloft Hotels Homecoming Tour, which will include Chicago with NJOMZA, Mala Rodriguez in Madrid, Dermont Kennedy in Dublin, and another stop in the United States with BANKS.

“It’s honestly super exciting to be able to do something smaller where you’re looking at people’s faces and taking in the moment with them personally and having a one-on-one experience,” he says of that show. “It’s a time when I get to hang out with people that support my music. And to be able to do it at home in Perth, down the road from my house is really, really exciting.”

The singer — who performed onstage with Robyn (“literally a legend,” he says) during her California tour stops — also opened up to PEOPLE about his friendship with Swift.

“She has been such a true supporter of me since day one,” he says. “When she finds a young new artist that she wants to champion, she really, really does champion them in a big way. It’s extremely encouraging and helpful.”

“I just am so thankful to have met her when I did,” he continues, adding that he’s ready to hear her new album Lover. “She’s been awesome to me.”

Though Sivan wishes he could have been in Swift’s pro-LGBT, celebrity-filled “You Need to Calm Down” music video, he says that Swift putting out a message of inclusivity and acceptance is crucial.

“Any time that an artist does something that you feel they truly believe in, and that they actually stand for something, that’s really important, especially when your platform is as big as hers is,” he says. “I have a lot of respect for her.”

Sivan, who came out as gay six years ago today, says delving into topics surrounding his sexuality in music comes naturally.

“I don’t really see the point in making the music if I’m not going to be completely honest,” he says. “So I feel lucky that I had the opportunity to come out and be accepted by my record label, my family and my friends and everything. Now seeing the response over the years from people, it just makes me really, really, really proud. And I think that we’re seeing more and more of it and that’s also really encouraging.”

As for upcoming music projects? “I’m dipping my toes in and to the idea of starting something new,” he says. “I’m starting to get to that point now where I’m itching to make something fresh, so I’m going to start doing that.”