Hong Kong travellers are world’s best forward planners
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Travellers from Hong Kong book their trips further in advance than any other nationality, a new report has revealed.
According the study by Agoda.com, Hong Kong residents are super-organised, booking their holidays on average 49.4 days prior to their departure date. This is a full three days further ahead than Russian travellers (46.4 days), who are the second best forward planners. Australians (44.3 days) were third, followed by Taiwanese (43.3) and British (37.2) travellers.
At the other end of the scale, the five nations that book with the least notice are made up primarily of Asian markets. Saudi Arabian travellers only book on average 16.9 days prior to their departure date, while Indonesian (18.0) and Vietnamese (18.7) residents also book less than three weeks in advance. India (21.7) and Malaysia (24.4) completed the five.
On a global level, Agoda said that there is a trend towards increased booking lead times.
“Our research demonstrates that across the globe, the trend is shifting to more advanced booking, with an average global increase of two days lead-time in booking compared to the previous year. This is somewhat surprising, given that we are portrayed as living in an age of ‘instant gratification’,” said Andy Edwards, Agoda’s global director of brand & communications.
“Price and choice play a driving factor when booking travel – the longer you book in advance, the better the choice and the lower the cost. Popular culture portrays this image of the adventurous, last-minute traveller, but in reality consumers are investing more time preparing for their holiday to get the most out of their well-deserved break.”
The report also revealed which countries have the highest levels of international travel. Unsurprisingly given their size, Singapore and Hong Kong (both 99%) generated the highest proportion of international reservations. The UK was third, with 38% of hotel booking made in overseas markets.
In China, 98% of the nation’s bookings are made domestically, while the figure was 92% in the US.
The Agoda study monitored the online travel company’s booking trends in 2016, compared to 2015, analysing customers from 20 countries.
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