Singaporeans travel more than regional and global counterparts

SINGAPORE – Ninety five percent of Singaporeans have travelled abroad for leisure in the past two years, higher than the Asia Pacific (84 percent) and global averages (76 per cent), according to Visa’s Global Travel Intentions Study 2015. Singapore travellers also cite leisure as their main purpose of travel for their most recent trips (85 per cent) compared to their counterparts in Asia Pacific (76 per cent) and globally (69 per cent).
 

In the next two years, Singaporeans intend to take more leisure trips (4 trips) than both their Asia Pacific (3 trips) and global (2 trips) counterparts. Affluent Singaporeans however, plan to take six leisure trips and eight business trips in the next two years. The top intended travel locations for leisure travel by Singapore travellers in the coming year are Japan (12 per cent), Australia (11 per cent) and Korea (8 per cent).
 

“Singaporeans love to travel, with frequent travel for leisure becoming part of our culture. On top of that, Singapore is centrally located and is also a global aviation hub, making it easy for us to travel to all parts of the world,” said Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei, Ms. Ooi Huey Tyng. “Singaporeans are also looking to experience international cultures and unique travel destinations with their friends and loved ones.”
 

“Based on VisaNet data, travel makes up close to 20 per cent of total spend by Visa cardholders and the yearon-year growth for travel spend is close to 10 per cent.”
 

According to the Study, the top three destinations for Singapore travellers over the last two years were Malaysia (45 percent), Hong Kong (39 per cent) and Thailand (33 per cent). For Singapore’s affluent travellers, Hong Kong (60 percent) was the top travel destination, followed by Australia (57 per cent) and Japan (51 per cent). First time travellers chose Malaysia (41 per cent), Hong Kong (33 per cent) and Australia (30 per cent) for their travel destinations.
 

 

Three in four Singaporeans prefer to travel free and easy/independent compared to travellers from other regions (58 per cent in APAC; 60 per cent globally). They also frequent online sources such as Trip Advisor and Agoda.com more than travellers from other regions. Sixty two per cent use Trip Advisor as compared to the Asia Pacific travellers (34 per cent) and global travellers (37 per cent) when planning their trips. In addition, the Study also shows that Singaporeans are careful planners, with more than one in two planning and booking everything before they arrive at their destinations. The median travel spend for Singaporeans is USD$1,634, significantly lower than the global median of USD$2,281. Whilst Singaporean travelers intend to spend more in future, their projected travel spend (USD$2,501) for the next trip is still lower than other travelers in the region (USD$3,501).
 

Family bonding (57 per cent) is cited as the top motivation for Singaporeans to travel in the next one year, according to the Study. Other popular reasons cited for travel include experiencing cultures (39 per cent) and the opportunity to rest and relax (38 per cent). However, it is interesting to note that Singaporeans aged 18-24 cite rewarding self (45 per cent) as the key driver to travel in the next one year.
 

In terms of travel companions, more Singapore travellers tend to go on holiday with family members than their global counterparts in the Study. While only 12 per cent of global travellers travel with their parents, 20 percent of Singapore respondents say they travel with their parents. On the other hand, they are less inclined to travel alone (19 per cent), compared to their Asia Pacific and global counterparts (both at 24 per cent).