Asians are now taking multiple trips per year and spending more on travel, but security remains a key concern.
These are the key findings from the “2017 Travelzoo Travel Trends Report”, which revealed that Asian tourists plan to spend more time and money overseas this year, but only in safe destinations.
When asked about their 2017 travel plans, 70% of Chinese respondents say they will travel abroad twice or more – an increase by almost 10% compared to the same period last year. And nearly 30% of respondents in Hong Kong plan to travel four times or more in 2017, which is an increase of 5%.
But safety is a major concern for Asian travellers. For the first time, no Western European destinations were named in the top five picks for any Asian market. Instead, Australia and Japan were selected, mainly for the reason of being “safer”.
“Concerns about safety from terrorist attacks weigh in heavily on Asian tourists’ travel decision-making,” commented Vivian Hong, president of Travelzoo Asia Pacific. “Nearly 80% of them travel with family so they are very mindful of the security measures. As a result, destinations within the Asia Pacific region, such as Japan and Australia, offer a compelling alternative.”
Despite these concerns, Asians’ appetite for outbound travel shows no sign of waning. In the past 12 months, the number of Chinese tourists who are willing to spend more than CNY14,000 (US$2,040) on travel has also increased nearly 10%, and 11% more respondents would spend more than CNY600 per night on a hotel. The number of Chinese who prefer budget hotels has decreased nearly 5%, while the number of those who prefer high-end global hotel groups almost tripled.
“Despite the upheavals of 2016, we see a clearly increased level of travel interest from Asian tourists,” said Ms Hong. “Thanks to Asia’s ascendancy in the global economy, consumer confidence in Asia remains strong and it’s reflected in the travel industry.
“China is witnessing a generation of millennials that is becoming the dominant force in leading the travel wave. Most of them are married and have children now. They love to spend more of their disposable income on a sunny beach holiday with their family,” she added.
The Travelzoo study gathered feedback from more than 7,600 Travelzoo members in mainland China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
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