Singapore’s Changi Airport. Credit: 123rf
A RECENT study by Visa reports that Singaporeans are travelling significantly more than their regional and global counterparts.
The Global Travel Intentions Study 2015 shows that in the past two years, 95 per cent of Singaporeans have travelled abroad for leisure, compared to Asia Pacific (84 per cent) and global (76 per cent) travellers on average.
The top three destinations for Singaporean travellers over the last two years were Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand. For affluent travellers, Hong Kong was the top destination, followed by Australia and Japan. Singaporeans cite leisure as their main purpose for travelling (85 per cent) compared to Asia Pacific (76 per cent) and global (69 per cent) travellers.
Singaporeans also plan to embark on more leisure trips (four) in the next two years compared to travellers from Asia Pacific (three) and worldwide (two). Wealthier Singaporeans plan to take six leisure and eight business trips in the same period.
In 2016, intention to travel to Japan is the highest, with 12 per cent of all Singaporean travellers planning to travel there. Australia (11 per cent) and South Korea (8 per cent) follow closely behind.
Aditionally, the study shows that Singaporean travellers frequent online sources such as TripAdvisor and Agoda.com to plan their trips, with 75 per cent of Singaporeans preferring to travel free and easy compared to 58 per cent of Asia Pacific travellers and 60 per cent of global travellers.
Family bonding is revealed to be the top motivator for travel in the next one year with 57 per cent of Singaporean travellers citing so. Following closely behind are reasons such as experiencing new cultures and relaxation. Singaporeans aged 18-24 years-old however, cite rewarding self as the key driver to travel.
The study also reveals that Singaporeans are less willing to travel alone compared to travellers from Asia Pacific and around the world.
