- Southeast Asia is the top travel destination especially among Singapore travellers
- Majority of Singaporeans intend to travel to relax, while Malaysians prefer to explore as much as they can
- Sightseeing and shopping are the top travel activities
- Discounts and promotions; convenience are the top motivators for travellers to use travel booking platforms
Singapore, April 17: More than half of Singaporeans and Malaysians (55 per cent) who have travelled since the start of the year will be travelling again in the next three months, a study finds.
Conducted jointly by Yahoo and Southeast Asia consumer research company, Milieu Insight, the study surveyed N=1,000 respondents each from Singapore and Malaysia to unveil their travel plans and patterns for the second quarter of the year.
Since the start of 2023, 61 per cent of respondents who have travelled overseas for leisure have been to Southeast Asia, the top travel destination especially among Singapore travellers (70 per cent).
However, travellers’ appetite for new experiences have not waned – 46 per cent will be travelling again to Southeast Asia, followed by East Asia (38 per cent) and Australia/New Zealand (20 per cent) in the next three months.
The study reflected intriguing differences in travel preferences between the two neighbouring countries: while 61 per cent of Singaporeans prefer to relax and take things slow for their next travel trip, Malaysians are quite the opposite – 65 per cent of them prefer to explore as much as they can.
The latter also tend to be more budget conscious, with 83 per cent (compared to 68 per cent in Singapore) saying that they have a travel budget to stick to.
Sightseeing (70 per cent) and shopping (46 per cent) are the top travel activities in both countries, but skews towards Singaporean travellers.
Malaysian travellers, on the other hand, showed more interest in other activities such as arts, history and cultural immersion (33 per cent vs 17 per cent in Singapore), and notably a rising travel trend – environment, climate and wildlife conservation (29 per cent vs 11 per cent in Singapore).
They also showed much higher intention to join local activities (80 per cent vs 58 per cent in Singapore), such as culinary workshops and cultural immersion with locals.
“The demand for travel is taking flight.
“Brands seeking to tap into the growing wanderlust must stay informed and understand how travel preferences have evolved.
“Our latest study, conducted with Milieu, unveils interesting insights into consumer travel patterns – from their top travel destinations to their favourite activities and top purchase motivators on travel booking platforms,” Kenneth Koh, Head of DSP SEA, Yahoo said.
Seventy four per cent of respondents who book travel arrangements themselves would do so via travel booking platforms, especially popular among 25-34 year olds in Singapore (83 per cent) and Malaysia (64 per cent).
As travellers now seek more diverse and immersive experiences, travel booking platforms are keeping pace by offering one-stop solutions to make multiple bookings across accommodations, flights and activities. In fact, coming after discounts and promotions (57 per cent), the convenience of making multiple bookings on one platform (46 per cent) is one of the top motivators for using these platforms.
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