Singapore, Nov 28: A study has found that 51 per cent of Southeast Asians intending to join year-end celebrations in-person with friends and family will only do so if all attendees are fully vaccinated.
The study conducted by Milieu Insight titled Festival Sentiments and 2022 Outlook found that those surveyed were hopeful for next year but not without remaining cautious.
“It was fascinating to see that people’s economic outlook mirrors their overall sentiments towards the new year – hopeful, yet cautious not to be overly optimistic,” Milieu Insight chief executive officer Gerald Ang said.
“While many are expecting their local economies to recover, their spending intent remains conservative.
“After two years of living in uncertainty, people are likely to be more cautious about what to expect next.
“That said, 2021 has been filled with progress and setbacks, and as countries inch towards finding success in living with COVID-19, people in Southeast Asia are remaining hopeful that we will be able to overcome the challenges ahead.
One thousand respondents each from Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia took part in the survey which was conducted this month.
According to the study, 65 per cent of people across Southeast Asia intend to join in-person year-end celebrations with their loved ones, among which 51 per cent will only join if all attendees were fully vaccinated, while 49 per cent will do so regardless of the attendees’ vaccination status.
However, opinions are mixed across the six countries.
While only 43 per cent of Singapore residents indicated that they will only join their loved ones for year-end celebrations if everyone is vaccinated, other countries are more cautious, registering a higher percentage of respondents who shared the same opinion, the highest being Malaysia at 64 per cent.
One in four residents from the Southeast Asian countries prefers if everyone is vaccinated but will join regardless, while nine per cent indicated they didn’t care about the vaccination status at all.
Some results of the study include:
- Hope emerged as the top emotion that people feel towards 2022. The Philippines in particular at 41 per cent. While people are hopeful that the COVID-19 situation will improve, they are also reserved about it – uncertainty is also one of the top 3 voted emotions in most SEA countries, particularly in Singapore (29 per cent), Thailand (23 per cent) and Malaysia (11 per cent).
- The state of the local economies ranked among the top five concerns Southeast Asians have for 2022, which includes impact on household income, uncertainty over how long COVID-19 will last and the health of loved ones. Among them, Thais are most concerned about the local economy (57 per cent) and household income (62 per cent).
Welcome to dailystraits.com. Please send all interview requests and press releases to editor@dailystraits.com.
