Wealthy Singaporeans: 85% of travellers splurged on a leisure trip this year

And 23% said they even made more than three trips in the past 12 months.

According to a release, business and leisure travel in the Asia/Pacific region has held firm despite the uncertain global economy, with the trend favouring more affluent markets, according to the findings from the latest MasterCard survey on Consumer Purchasing Priorities - Travel.

The latest survey was conducted from 15 March to 27 April 2011 and involved 10,374 consumers from 14 markets. Data collection was via internet surveys, personal, telephone and Computer Aided Telephone interviews, with the questionnaire translated to the local language wherever appropriate and necessary.

From the Asia/ Pacific region more than 80% of respondents from Singapore (85%) and Hong Kong (84%) had made at least one international leisure trip in the past 12 months, with 27% of respondents from Hong Kong and 23% of respondents from Singapore making more than three trips. South Korea (55%), Taiwan (54%) and Australia (53%) also showed high propensity for making international leisure trips, with a majority of respondents having made at least one trip in the past year.

Business travel is an important component of international travel in many markets in Asia/Pacific. In Hong Kong and Singapore, 48% and 43% respondents respectively made at least one international business trip in the past 12 months, followed by South Korea (29%), Taiwan (27%) and Australia (21%). 18% of respondents from Hong Kong made more than three business trips in the past 12 months.

In spite of the strong growth of outbound travel in recent years, the fact remains that in many of the markets in the Asia/Pacific region, the vast majority of people surveyed have not made any international leisure trips in the past 12 months. For instance, 98% and 91% of the survey respondents in India and China respectively have not traveled overseas in the past 12 months; and these high percentages are matched by 93% in Vietnam, 98% in Indonesia, and 82% in the Philippines.

Not surprisingly, there is a high correlation between household income and international travel. According to the survey, in markets where high travel incidence is reported, monthly household income ranges between US$3,000 to US$5,000. In contrast, in markets where low travel incidence is reported, average monthly household income is less than US$1,500.

“The pattern continues to reflect that international personal travel in the Asia/Pacific region has proved to be resilient in spite of the weak and uncertain recovery of the global economy. In regional business centers like Singapore and Hong Kong, business travel continues to be robust,” said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, global economic advisor for MasterCard Worldwide.

“The fact that extraordinarily high percentages of respondents in markets like China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam have not traveled in the last 12 months suggests that international personal travel is likely to be a powerful growth trend for the foreseeable future, as these markets continue to see growth in income and an expanding middle class.”

Looking Towards the Next 12 Months

Overall, a majority of respondents are likely to travel for business the same as or more than in the past 12 months. Out of the Asia/Pacific markets, South Korea (27%), Singapore (23%) and Hong Kong (19%) display significantly higher propensity to travel more for business in the next 12 months.

The same applies for leisure travel, with a majority of respondents looking to travel the same as or more than in the past 12 months. For markets in the Asia/Pacific region, South Korea (40%) and Australia (32%) show highest interest to travel more for leisure over the coming year.

Other key findings from the survey include:

- Alongside New Zealand, which also saw an earthquake earlier this year, Japan showed the lowest intention to travel more - either for leisure or business purposes - among more developed nations in Asia/Pacific.
- International business trips are scarce in India and Indonesia, with less than 2% of the respondents there having made any international business trips in the past 12 months.
- South Koreans, Taiwanese, and Thais are relatively more skewed to making domestic leisure trips, with more than 80% of their respondents said to have made at least one domestic leisure trip in the past 12 months.
- Domestic leisure travelers in Taiwan travel most frequently with nearly half of them (44%) having travelled more than 3 trips in past 12 months.