WHILE South-east Asia has, unsurprisingly, emerged as the most visited destination for Singaporeans, a study released today by MasterCard has shown how five demographics differ in their travel spending and behaviour.
Last December, MasterCard conducted online interviews with some 1,600 Singaporeans who travel at least twice annually, asking for their recent travel histories.
From the study, it concluded that more than half of Singaporean travellers (56 per cent) visited South-east Asia recently with Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia being their top choices.
Another 30 per cent went to Greater Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Hong Kong, China, and Australia saw the highest number of Singaporean footfalls in that order. The remaining 14 per cent went to the rest of the world. The US was the most popular choice, followed by the UK and France.
Young travellers, or those aged 18 and 24, spent an average of S$1,643 (US$1,317) per person per trip. They enjoyed exploring new places, roaming the city, engaging in leisure activities, and getting in touch with Mother Nature through outdoor activities. This demographic accounts for 13 per cent of outbound Singaporean travellers.
Singaporeans without children in their late 20s and older said they travel for great shopping deals, cultural immersions, to get out of their routines and for celebrations. They spend about S$2,241 on each trip and make up the bulk of Singapore’s travelling population at 43 per cent.
Families made obvious concessions to their younger children by visiting theme parks and taking advantage of great shopping deals when on holiday, though they also took the chance to take a break and celebrate special occasions. They make up 26 per cent of travellers and spend S$3,160 per pax.
Married Singaporeans with older children contribute only 12 per cent of the travelling populace but spend the most, at S$4,266 each. They travel on guided tours or to visit someone, and enjoy leisure activities.
Senior travellers aged between 55 and 65 spend S$3,768 on average. When on vacation, they enjoy pampering themselves, indulging in fine dining, exploring new places and usually travel on guided tours.
Separately, Hotels.com’s latest Hotel Price Index found that Singaporeans’ top 10 destinations for 1H2014 were: Hong Kong, Bangkok, Taipei, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Bali, London, Penang and Osaka. While Thailand has traditionally been the hottest outbound destination among Singapore travellers, it has been eclipsed this year.
Tokyo experienced the biggest fall, taking a three-step tumble from third position to sixth. Taking its place was Taipei and Seoul, which rose one and two spots respectively to inch their way into the top five. Penang experienced the greatest jump, leaping four spots.
The results were based on bookings made on Hotels.com site.
