Singapore travelers couldn't care less about global slowdown

Singaporeans most likely to go on holidays than Asian peers, survey shows.

AsiaRooms.com – an online travel accommodation site based in Asia,  today announced the release of its inaugural index researching global travel trends. The AsiaRooms.com Traveller Confidence Index (TCI) tracks leading indicators for travel propensity, spending confidence, and regional momentum to provide meaningful insights into the travel trends of both consumers and businesses from a demand perspective.

The survey shows that Asia leads online usage for bookings and cost savings rank lower on priorities.

Asia had the highest proportion of respondents having gone online to book for leisure and business accommodation at 70.3%. This compares to a global average of 63.2%; Europe at 63.2%; and Latin America at 51.6%.

Within Asia, China had the highest proportion of direct online bookings at 57.5% of respondents, followed closely by Singapore at 57.4% and India at 55% of respondents respectively.

Asian travellers were also the least sensitive to cost with only 29% of respondents in Asia citing cost savings as the key determinant influencing their online bookings. This compares to the global average of 34%; 30.3% in Latin America; and 39.3% in Europe.

Spending and room booking results also reveal a disparity in confidence mirroring the ongoing economic uncertainty in the European and US markets relative to Asia’s strength. Travellers in Asia lead spending with 65.5 index points versus 62.9 points in Latin America, 53.3 points in Europe, and 49.3 points in the US.

Singapore led the Asia-Pacific region for overseas leisure travel with a propensity index score of 67.9 points versus Malaysia at 48.3 points, China at 62.8 points, and a global average of 61.4 points.

Commissioned by AsiaRooms.com, and in partnership with independent market research firm VisionOne UK, the study surveyed about 15,000 travellers worldwide during the first quarter of 2012. The survey topics focused on respondents’ travel experiences, online booking behaviour, spending and propensity for future bookings.

The survey covered 29 major travel markets in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region including Japan and Korea, and Oceania.