Travellers care less about budgets than experiences: Visa survey

BUDGETS have become less important to travellers, who now care more for the types of attractions, quality of scenery and rich cultural experiences that a destination offers, according to Visa’s latest Global Travel Intentions Study 2013 of 12,631 travellers from 25 countries.

 

Whereas last year’s findings showed concerns such as “weather”, “fits my budget” and “culture” as influencing travellers’ intention to travel, the latest survey indicated that budget concerns had “fallen off the radar”, said Ross Jackson, head of cross-border business for Visa in Asia-Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa. He said this suggested either economic recovery or a growing appetite for larger travel budgets.

“In past surveys, we were seeing budget or security issues. We’re not seeing that as much,” he told travel industry CEOs at a PATA luncheon on Saturday.

Asian travellers are planning to spend 46 per cent more on travel, with those from Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong intending to almost double the budget of their last trip in the future.

“Thailand is growing immensely. Hong Kong is slightly different; it’s partly fuelled by Japan, one of their favourite destinations, which has suddenly become more affordable due to the exchange rate,” Jackson said.

Nearly 40 per cent of travellers surveyed said they intended to stay in four-star hotels and above. Accommodation, however, would account for only nine per cent of this year’s travel spend, with retail lopping off the most spend (30 per cent), followed by dining (24 per cent) and activities (21 per cent).

Just over a third of global travel is expected to be to Asia, with Australia and South Korea as among the most preferred destinations for intended travel this year.

But the most popular destination choice for global travellers for this year is the US.

Travellers care less about budgets than experiences: Visa survey