Time to relax

Over the decades, travel and tourism have grown to become one of the world’s largest economic sectors, generating about 10% of world GDP. Tourists became a prominent source of revenue for many people. Furthermore, travelling became so popular that some places in the world, like Venice or Dubrovnik, have to deal with the problem of overtourism.

It’s no wonder that now when travelling from one side of the globe to the other is easier than ever, people go on trips more often. According to the World Tourism Organization’s forecasts, international tourist arrivals will reach 1.8 billion by 2030. And while Europe is still the top tourist destination, Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region in recent years.

What impact do these trends have on Singaporeans? Picodi Analysis Team decided to find out more about the habits and preferences of Singaporean travellers. Read further to learn how often and with whom Singaporeans travel, how much money they spend, what are the top travel destinations and Singaporeans’ approach to organising trips.

Top destinations

According to the survey results, the majority of Singaporeans prefer going abroad over domestic travels. 38% of surveyed Singaporeans declared that they would rather spend their holidays in their country when 62% opted for international travels.

Among those who decide to travel abroad, the most popular countries to visit were Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Australia.

Once in a blue moon

When Singaporeans go on their holidays? The shoulder season is gaining its fans around the world since it allows to visit the popular tourist attractions in decent weather and with more affordable prices. Its growing popularity was also noticed by Singaporeans — 36% of respondents declared that they travel during the shoulder season. 45% chose the high season and the remaining 19% prefer to travel during the budget-friendly low season.

The question remains, how much money Singaporeans are willing to pay for their leisure? According to the survey results, an average Singaporean spends S$1,086 per travel. However, only 5% of respondents said that they don’t try to save on trips — the rest of them have some smart tricks which make the whole venture more affordable. Among the most popular answers, 68% of surveyed Singaporeans declared that they buy tickets in advance and 40% book their stay ahead of time.

It looks like Singaporeans prefer longer getaways as 44% of respondents claimed their trips last around a week. 30% said that they spend two weeks or more on holidays and 26% less than a week. On the other hand, 34% of the surveyed Singaporeans go on holidays once a year and 45% twice a year or more frequently. 21% of respondents have the opportunity to go on a trip less than once a year.

With whom Singaporeans spend their holidays? Majority of the surveyed travel with their family or partner (51% and 23% respectively). 17% go with friends and 9% prefer to travel alone.

All by myself

We already know when and where Singaporeans travel but how do they organise their trips? The overwhelming majority of respondents (91%) prefer to organise everything by themselves while 9% rely on travel agencies.

The main reasons for self-organised trips pointed out by Singaporeans were the ability to match everything according to preferences (63%) and the cheaper price (33%). Those who travel with agencies mention that it is more comfortable and they feel safer (43% each).

Explore the unknown

We asked Singaporeans whether they prefer to go somewhere new or re-visit their favourite places. The results show that most of them (75%) would rather explore new places and only one-fourth of respondents (25%) chose to go back to places they already know.

When it comes to organising a trip, are there any differences between women’s and men’s attitude? It turns out that women are more spontaneous in the matter of organising journeys. Nevertheless, most people prefer to plan in advance — 76% of men and 74% of women.

Sunbathing on the ravishing Bali beaches, exploring the old alleys of Paris or surfing the waves of the Australian coast? When asked about the favourite way of spending holidays, more than half of the Singaporean respondents (55%) chose sightseeing as their favourite activity. It was followed by lying on a beach (31%) and the least popular — active rest (14%).

When in Rome, do as the Romans do – the old proverb says. However, there are different approaches when travelling, especially when it comes to means of transportation or food. Among the surveyed Singaporeans, 47% chose taxi as their favourite way of transportation, followed by local public transport (44%) and rental cars (9%). As for food, 63% try local cuisine, 30% look for places that serve familiar dishes and 4% take their food with them.

In theory, taking a holiday is a way to rest from work. However, sometimes it’s impossible to break free from incoming calls or emails. It turns out that 47% of surveyed Singaporeans are willing to perform job-related tasks during their holidays.

Around the world

We asked travellers from 39 countries how much money they spend on average per holiday. Based on the answers, we prepared a ranking which indicates the biggest spenders.

An average Singaporean spends S$1,086 per person on a holiday, which converted into USD amounts to $797. It places Singapore in the top ten. Australians spend the most money on holidays — $1,505 per holiday. They are followed by Hongkongers and Finns.

The most frugal travellers come from Indonesia and Pakistan — they spend $207 and $191 respectively.

How to save money while on holidays?

By organising your holiday trip on your own you can save a lot of money. For example, by booking your accomodation through Klook, Expedia, Trip.com, Agoda or KKday, you can earn cashback that can be withdrawn and spent on other things, such as food or attractions. All you have to do is create a Picodi account and enable the cashback feature before booking your place to stay.

Methodology

This report is based on the survey conducted in April and May 2019 among over 20 000 respondents from 41 countries. For the currency conversion, the average exchange for May 2019 was used.

Sources

• https://www.wttc.org/economic-impact/
• https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/overtourism-solutions/index.html
• https://unwto.org/why-tourism

Public Use

Are you willing to share the information and infographics about holidays in Singapore and around the world with your readers? Feel free to use all the data and infographics presented in this report for both commercial and non-commercial purposes as long as you indicate the author of the research (Picodi.com) with a link to this subpage.