Bangkok--27 Jan--Hill & Knowlton
Destinations close to home and far-flung exotic locationson Thai people’s travel wish list
Global travel search engine Skyscanner has revealed the top emerging global destinations that it predicts will surge in popularity in 2015 with Thai travellers. This year, the trending hot spots are a mix of countries and cities that range from destinations preferred by the more intrepid traveller – like Iceland and South America – to destinations that are close to home, like Seoul and Taipei.
In 2015, Skyscanner predicts Thais will be looking to expand their appreciation for pristine beach destinations: New Caledonia secures the top spot in the list, with flight searches up an average of 71% over the past three years. The former French colony is located in the Pacific Ocean about a three hour direct flight from Sydney, and is currently undergoing a major change of personality that will likely see it re-emerge as an upmarket niche hotspot for wealthy eco-travellers.
Skyscanner predicts two destinations in Central and South America will make this year’s travel wish list. Nicaragua narrowly beats Brazil in popularity, with a 24% increase in flight searches over the past three years compared to Brazil’s 14% increase.
For those who want to experience a true winter, interest in Iceland – the backdrop for many Game of Thrones episodes and blockbuster hit Interstellar featuring Matthew McConaughey – continues to grow, with flight searches from Thailand increasing 40%.
Closer to home, Thai travellers will start to venture further afield than Japan. Skyscanner’s data shows the hottest destinations in 2015 will be Seoul (38% search increase), Taipei (4% search increase) and Bhutan (15% search increase).
Commenting on the findings, Ms. Grace Pobpabha Areerat, Marketing Manager –Thailand for Skyscanner, said, “It is really interesting to see how Thai people’s travel interests are changing and which destinations are growing in popularity.
In order to come up with the biggest trends, Ms. Grace explains, “With over 30 million searches to the Skyscanner via the website and app every month from all over the world, our data gives us some really strong insight into future travel trends.”
“However rather than just reporting on the standard top 9 increases over the past 12 months, our team has analysed the data over three years to spot emerging trends, then cross referenced this with further research from The Future Laboratory and Trendhunter looking at factors that are likely to affect their popularity over the next 12 months such as film releases, new hotels and improvements in infrastructure. Lastly, we cross-referenced the results with our local search data for Thailand and were able to pinpoint more precisely where we think Thai people will be looking to explore in 2015.”
The top hot spots Skyscanner predicts will be popular with Thai travellers in 2015 are:
1. New Caledonia (+71%)
2. Iceland (+40%)
3. Seoul (+38%)
4. Fort Lauderdale (+33%)
5. Nicaragua (+24%)
6. Bhutan (+15%)
7. Brazil (+14%)
8. Okinawa (+13%)
9. Taipei (+4%)
For more information on the top destinations including average flight prices and the cheapest time to travel visit.