Travel searches to Singapore spike up after talks of travel bubbles

A significant spike in travel searches to Singapore originating from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan has been recorded through the last two weeks of March 2021. This increase, as detected across ADARA’s data consortiums, coincides with public announcements of plans to restore travel between these countries and Singapore.

The most significant increase in travel search to Singapore was detected from Australia, which was the first country to announce talks on a potential bilateral travel bubble with Singapore. In the two weeks following the news, travel searches from Australia to Singapore saw a 34% increase in market share, compared to the volume of all searches to Singapore across the same period. Across 15-28 March, travel searches and bookings from Australia to Singapore also increased, compared to the previous window (1-14 March).

Across other countries that have also initiated discussions around travel bubble arrangements with Singapore, increases in travel searches have likewise been detected for the same window of time. For example, travel searches from Malaysia and Indonesia to Singapore both experienced a 19% increase in market share, while that of Taiwan to Singapore saw a 14% increase.

Beyond countries that have ongoing discussions around bilateral travel arrangements, Denmark and the United Arab Emirates have also seen an increase in the market share of global travel searches to Singapore at 26% and 19%, respectively.

The positive growth in travel searches originating from these source markets to Singapore is a preliminary indicator of pent-up demand for international travel. As arrangements solidify and more announcements materialise in the coming weeks and months, there remains more potential for intra-regional travel to gradually rebound, as pent-up travel demand accumulated across much of 2020 and the start of 2021 is released in waves.