Collinsons report shows Asians willing to spend for travel

Travel engagement solutions firm Collinson International just released its 2024 Travel Benefits and Customer Engagement Report. 

This report covers travel habits in the Asia Pacific, offering a comprehensive analysis of behaviours, perceptions, and preferences of travellers in the region.

Featured information includes how much individual travellers are willing to spend for trips and experiences on both global and domestic levels.

Travel equals a third of annual expenditures

Based on the responses of 7,250 respondents across 14 markets in Asia Pacific, key findings show that travel is one of the highest spend categories for respondents across all markets.

Southeast Asia, in particular, is beginning to look like an emergent powerhouse in terms of travel spending. The report particularly shows how Singaporean respondents spend around US$10,619 on trips per year, around double the amount spent in mainland China and Japan.

Travellers from Malaysia and Thailand are not far behind, as they also spend considerably on travel annually, budgeting US$5,939 and US$5,548 respectively.

Travel as a prime mover for consumer spending

Commenting on the findings, Collinson International’s vice-president for business solutions in the Asia Pacific Rohan Bhalla said: “Our research has shown that travel is a key driver for consumer expenditure. This ‘travel resonance’ is especially strong with Southeast Asian survey respondents, further demonstrating how much the region is primed to be the next travel powerhouse.” 

Bhalla added that, beyond the rise of Indian outbound travellers and the much-anticipated Chinese outbound travel resurgence, tourism professionals should not ignore the potential of Southeast Asia’s travel market.

Indeed, even before the pandemic, this dynamic region generated over 40 million departures and US$53 billion in outbound travel expenditures.

Likewise, travel is not the only factor motivating Asians to spend. Many are also on the lookout for enhanced experiences

Consumers in Asia Pacific are not just looking to travel more, but are also desiring enhanced experiences. Around 44 percent of respondents ranked airport lounge access as their top travel-related credit card benefit, outstripping service-oriented benefits like security fast-track and airport transfers. 

In addition, approximately 90 percent of respondents in the region considered access to airport lounges a travel benefit that they would expect on any credit card with an annual fee. 

On the other hand, 89 percent remarked that they would consider switching to a new card if it offered membership with their favourite airport lounge access programme if such a benefit was unavailable with their current card.

Other perks

The research also revealed that travel experiences beyond airport lounge access, such as accessing dining offers while travelling, are highly valued amongst Asia Pacific travellers.

Indeed, respondents in Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Philippines listed ‘dining offers’ in their top five most preferred travel benefits.

Bhalla said of this: “With strong, positive consumer sentiment towards travel, brands, particularly in the financial services sector, have a unique opportunity to leverage travel as a key competitive advantage. By integrating travel and airport related benefits and experiences into customer engagement and loyalty programmes, brands are able to level-up their customer value proposition, enhance customer satisfaction, differentiate from competition, and deliver measurable business impact.”