A speedy and successful national vaccine rollout programme has fuelled greater confidence in overseas travel among Singaporeans.
According to Expedia data, searches for international travel among Singaporeans during the period of November 2021 to January 2022 grew by 60 per cent in the second quarter (April to June 2021) compared to the previous quarter (January to March 2021).
Despite prevailing travel restrictions amid the pandemic, optimism towards international travel in recent months has been fuelled by higher vaccination rates among the resident population – with 75 per cent of Singapore citizens expected to be inoculated by October 2021.
Searches for staycations in Singapore grew close to 440 per cent in 2Q2021, which included the June school holidays, compared to the previous quarter. In total, search volume for domestic and international travel combined grew by 140 per cent from Q1 to Q2.
Expedia’s recent search data also revealed a shift in Singaporeans’ preferred international destinations, with beach destinations becoming more popular for year-end travel as compared to the same period in 2019 and 2018, when cooler North Asia destinations like Okinawa, Seoul and Taipei were top choices.
Beach destinations featured prominently in the list of top 10 most-searched international destinations, with the Maldives taking top spot – a big jump from 2018 and 2019, when it took 14th spot on the list. Other beach destinations that made the top 10 list include Bali, Krabi and Phuket, which took the 4th, 5th and 10th spot respectively.
