Bangkok--16 Jan--Spark Communications
Thai affluent traveler habits revealed in Visa’s Global Travel Intentions Study 2013
The latest Visa Global Travel Intentions Survey 2013 shows that affluent Thais plan to travel more and spend more, and are the first to adopt new technology and gadgets as staying connected on trips is a top priority.
Affluent Thai travelers apparently do not “switch off” on holiday. They feel the need to stay connected with 60 percent accessing their emails and 45 percent accessing instant messaging platforms during their travels. While still used, activities like sharing photos and surfing the web for leisure are less important among affluent Thais when they travel – dropping to 34 percent and 36 percent respectively.
Predictably, this group also loves their devices, carrying higher-end gadgets such as compact cameras (53 per cent) and lifestyle devices such as e-book readers (11 per cent) and tablets (47 per cent) when they travel.
They will spend even more on travel
Travel promotions (40 percent), good weather (34 percent), and good attractions (34 percent) rate as the affluent Thai traveler’s three most important reasons for destination choice.
Spending habits once they reach their destinations are also evolving, with average spending per trip expected to increase three times their current expenditure from US$1629 to US$4501 for future trips. Like most groups, affluent Thais spend heavily on retail (33 percent), dining (22 percent) and activities (19 percent), but spend significantly higher than the global average at medium and large retailers, high-end restaurants and on entertainment and nightlife. When paying 93 percent use payment cards to make these purchases – well above the global average of 40 percent.
Affluent Thais took up to four trips in the past 2 years and prefer to travel with family members. Most said they made the most of weekends or public holidays by taking short vacations of 3-4 nights (40 percent) to short haul destinations (49 percent). In addition they also prefer luxury, with a high percentage purchasing first class and business class flights add up to a 30 percent, while economy class is 49 percent and booking accommodation in luxury hotels of four stars and above.
Somboon Krobteeranon, Visa Country Manager, Myanmar and Thailand says: “The new tide of affluent Thai travelers is bolder in their choices and demand a sense of adventure and personalized experiences to meet their individual interests. Thai travelers seek wallet friendly locations, good weather, and attractions. They are also more likely to spend on travel and holidays and have increased spending power – even planning to triple their current expenditure on their next trip.”
Bolder destination choices
While upscale Thai travelers have a particular destination in mind while planning for their trips, they are becoming bolder when it comes to exploring unchartered terrains with eight out of 10 affluent travelers indicating in Visa’s Study that they will visit new destinations in the future. Thai travelers will be trendsetters in growing visitor numbers to exotic destinations such as East Africa. When asked which countries in East Africa they would consider traveling to 71 percent chose Maldives and 47 percent listed Madagascar.
Considering the affluent take more holidays a year – an average of four trips a year – despite the propensity to explore new destinations, Asian destinations such as Singapore, China and Japan still top their list of holiday destinations.
* Definition of affluent travelers in the Visa Global Travel Intentions Study 2013, are travelers with the following household incomes or higher: AUD 8,501 (Australia), RMB 10,001 (China), HKD 50,000 (Hong Kong), INR 80,001 (India), IDR 15,000,001 (Indonesia), JPY 747,001 (Japan), KRW 7,000,001 (Korea), RM 15,000 (Malaysia), SGD 11,000 (Singapore), TWD 67,000 (Taiwan), THB 100,000 (Thailand), EUR 4,851 (France), EGP 21,001 (Egypt), EUR 3,251 (Germany), USD 6,000 (Kuwait), MED 25,000 (Morocco), RUB 70,001 (Russia), SAR 20,001 (Saudi Arabia), ZAR 30,001 (South Africa), AED 25,001 (UAE), GBP 6,001 (UK), BRL 10,801 (Brazil), CAD 10,001 (Canada), MXN 82,001 (Mexico), USD 9,001 (USA).
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