Overall, 50% of travellers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and
the Philippines intend to travel in 2023. That was the key finding from
Milieu Insight’s recent “Keeping Pace with Southeast Asia’s Consumers”
by COO Stephen Tracy at the recent CruiseWorld Asia 2022.
Polling answers from 4,000 online survey respondents, Tracy also
shared that travellers in these countries also prefer to travel within
the Southeast Asia region or East Asia.
Australia and New Zealand ranked third as a preferred destination
across all four markets, but North America is seen as the least likely
choice for a vacation.
Social media continues to play an important role in travel planning
across all country respondents, especially Facebook, Instagram and
YouTube. This is music to the ears of tourism industry players as it
signals where travellers go to plan their bookings in future.
“For instance, YouTube is important for integration, so if you’re an
agency or tour operator, advertise a bit and do pre-rolls here and also
on Facebook and Instagram,” Tracy added.
Other key finds from the survey include:
• 68% of Singaporeans surveyed said they are ready to travel in 2023.
• Consumers from all four countries also look to the same platforms
to search for travel promotions and discounts: social media, travel
booking sites and search engines. Findings also found that travellers
would consider multiple trips if cost of travelling reduces.
• Cruise intention is high with 35-50% of respondents saying they
have already booked or intend to book a cruise. A cruise duration of
between 3-7 days is seen as ideal. 20% of respondents remain undecided,
and this segment could potentially present a key opportunity for
conversion by cruise operators.
• Quality of food, travel experiences and hygiene are the top
concerns when it comes to choosing a cruise vacation. Says Tracy,
“Although the fear level is way down than the early days of the
pandemic, hygiene still plays an important role and consumers want to
know that the information is there and it’s easy to access.”