ASIA PACIFIC. Australia and Japan have been voted the most desirable holiday destinations in the Asia Pacific region, according to the Visa-Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Asia Pacific Travel Intentions Survey 2010.
Some 40% of the 6,714 respondents surveyed in this year’s research said they would consider travelling to Australia or Japan in the next two years. When asked to name the most likely destination for their next Asia Pacific holiday, 17% named Australia as their top destination while 16% named Japan.
In other key findings, respondents from Mainland China indicated the strongest appetite for travel – both international and domestic. Over the next two years, the survey found, they plan to travel on average at least seven times. Next came Singaporean respondents, who said they planned at least six trips over the coming two years on average.
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Australia was most popular with visitors from New Zealand, with 59% picking Australia as their mostly likely holiday destination, followed by travellers from the UK (29%), US (20%) and Japan (17%).
Japan was the top choice for holidaymakers from South Korea (38%), Chinese Taipei (34%), Thailand (26%) and Hong Kong (22%).
In this year’s survey, respondents were also asked which previously visited destination they would personally recommend. Again, Japan (12%) and Australia (10%) were the most recommended destinations, followed by Singapore, Thailand and Mainland China (8% each).
PATA Chief Executive Greg Duffell said: “Travel intention intelligence such as is revealed in this annual survey from Visa and PATA is critical for today’s destination and product marketers given the pressures placed on them to improve returns on investment even as budgets are being squeezed.
“It is vital to gain insight into where one’s customers want to go next. One of the most heartening features from this year’s report is the relatively wide spread of Asia Pacific destinations under consideration by the 13 source markets studied, including the long-haul sources of the UK and the US.”
Travel Style: Almost half of all those surveyed (47%) said they arranged their trips themselves by booking directly with hotels and airlines. Self-organised travel was the top travel style for respondents from the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia. Flexible individual tours which allow travellers to choose their own activities were the next most preferred way to travel (22%). Packaged group tours were most likely to be booked by travellers from Mainland China (33%), Chinese Taipei (29%) and Thailand (28%).
Trip Duration: Most travellers spend three to five nights on vacation, with 32% of respondents saying this was how long they had been away on average over the last two years. Travellers from the UK (29%), US (22%), and New Zealand (19%) tended to take longer trips of between ten to 14 nights. Australian travellers were most likely to take the longest breaks – 23% of them said their past holiday trips lasted more than 20 nights.
Accommodation: Travellers surveyed were most likely to staying at four-star (27%) and three-star (21%) hotels. Respondents from Singapore (47%) were most likely to stay at a four-star hotel, while Indian (33%) and Malaysian (32%) travellers were most likely to pick a three-star hotel. Luxury hotels were most popular with travellers from Hong Kong (25%) and Chinese Taipei (20%). Resorts were favoured by Korean holiday-makers (25%).
Travel Companions: Most travellers said they tend to holiday with their spouse or partner, with 48% saying they had done so on their travels over the last two years. Holidaying with family and relatives was popular with respondents from Singapore (42%) and Thailand (40%), while 35% of respondents from India said they had travelled with their children. Respondents from Chinese Taipei (28%) and China (26%) travelled alone the most during their international holidays.
About the survey
Commissioned by Visa and PATA, the 2010 Asia Pacific Travel Intentions Survey was an online survey conducted by Nielson in May 2010. The survey asked 6,714 respondents from 13 key Asia Pacific travel source markets (Australia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mainland China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the UK and US) about past and future travel plans. For each market respondents were Internet users, aged 18 years or above, had travelled internationally for holidays in the past two years or have the intention to do so in the next two years.
