Visa: Asia Pacific travellers are travelling longer, further

If Visa’s latest study is anything to go by, the global travel industry can expect an estimated 90 million new travellers from the Asia-Pacific region by 2025. 

The study, which came out of the Visa International Travel (VISIT) platform, also found that travellers are more likely to take long-haul trips on account of the growing affluence among a new generation of Asia Pacific consumers. "Travel patterns are changing among Asia Pacific consumers. As household income growth continue to outpace economic growth in most countries in the region, overseas travel is not only becoming more common, people are also travelling more often and looking at further destinations such as Europe and the US," said Glenn Maguire, principal Asia Pacific economist, Visa. Currently, Asia Pacific households account for one-in-three global travelling households, up from one-in-four in 2006.

Among the affluent in the region, Singapore travellers have the highest propensity for long-haul travel at 52%. This trend continues even in markets with growing middle-income households, such as Indonesia at 38% and India at 13%. 

Then there’s China. In the study of 250 cities around the world, China is expected to add nearly 80 million more households to the global travelling class. Magure explained, "Our analysis shows that China's major cities have emerged as key Asia Pacific destinations. This highlights the fact that China is becoming an increasingly important inbound market, as well as providing the majority of outbound tourist flows. This trend will continue as tourism infrastructure in China develops further,” Maguire added.