Singaporeans Lead Asia Pacific Region in International Travel
07/24/2018
Visa study shows Singapore travellers take more trips than regional counterparts but spend less per trip than regional average.
Singapore travellers continue to lead the Asia Pacific region in international travel, averaging slightly more than four leisure trips over the last two years, compared to the Asia Pacific average of 2.7, and the global average of 2.5, according to Visa’s Global Travel Intentions Study 2017 (“Study”). Singapore is the leader in international travel for leisure and business, with Singaporeans taking almost seven international trips over the last two years.
Average number of leisure + business international trip taken over the last two years
| # | Country |
# of trips |
1 |
Singapore |
6.62 |
2 |
Mainland China |
5.81 |
3 |
Thailand |
5.72 |
4 |
Malaysia |
5.08 |
5 |
Hong Kong |
5.02 |
In addition, Singaporeans plan to travel the most, with an average of 6.58 international trips for leisure and business followed by Mainland China (6.21), Thailand (5.98) and India (5.64).
“Singaporeans are avid travellers whether it’s for business or pleasure. Based on VisaNet data, travel made up 10 per cent of total spend by Singapore Visa cardholders in 2017.1 Singaporeans are also spending more when they’re abroad with international spending up more than 10 per cent as compared to 2016,” said Kunal Chatterjee, Visa Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei.
Although Singapore travellers lead in terms of number of trips, they are spending fewer nights away while on holiday (average of six nights per trip) compared to regional (seven nights) and global (eight nights) travellers. They also stick closer to home (average of five hours journey time to their destination), compared with the Asia Pacific average of six hours and global average of seven hours.
In terms of preferred travel destinations, Malaysia remains the most popular, with almost half of respondents (47 per cent) having visited the neighbouring country during the past two years, followed by Japan (37 per cent) and Thailand (36 per cent).
Preferred destinations for travellers (% of respondents who visited destination country in the past two years)
Singapore |
% |
APAC Regional |
% |
Global |
% |
Malaysia |
47 |
Japan |
32 |
Japan |
19 |
Japan |
37 |
Australia |
23 |
USA |
18 |
Thailand |
36 |
Hong Kong |
20 |
Australia |
15 |
Hong Kong |
34 |
Singapore |
19 |
Hong Kong |
13 |
Australia |
31 |
Thailand |
18 |
Thailand |
13 |
Spending and budgeting while on holiday
Singapore travellers are spending less (a median spend of US$1,462 per trip) compared to the regional (US$1,677), and global numbers (US$1,793). However, Singaporeans plan to increase their spend overseas by 55 per cent compared to other travellers in Asia Pacific (+46 per cent) and global (+36 per cent).
More than one third (43 per cent) of Singapore travellers cite budget considerations as the main reason for choosing their next travel destination, followed by value for money and number of days available to make the trip (40 per cent each). Compared to the Asia Pacific regional average, Singapore travellers are also stricter with their travel budgets, with 34 per cent sticking strictly to their travel budgets, compared to Asia Pacific counterparts (29 per cent) and global travellers (32 per cent).
1 VisaNet data as of Sept 2017.
About Visa
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit www.visa.com.sg