MasterCard Worldwide Index of Travel Highlights for The Philippines and Singapore

MasterCard has released the eagerly anticipated results of its latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Travel report, predicting steady growth in outbound travel across Asia Pacific in the first half of 2008, despite the economic uncertainty clouding world financial markets.  

Below are the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Travel - First Half 2008 Market Specific Highlights. To get the full picture however, it is important to view them in conjunction with the main page, entitled: Steady Growth in Outbound Asia Pacific Travel Forecast Despite Economic Uncertainty.

Due to the amount of data we have cut the Market Specific Highlights into different pages. The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Travel - First Half 2008 Market Specific Highlights features the following countries: Australia and China, Hong Kong and Indonesia, Japan and Korea, Malaysia and New Zealand, Philippines and Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

PHILIPPINES - Forecast on Outbound Travel for the First Half of 2008

• 5.9% year-on-year growth • 1.3 million outbound travelers forecasted for the next six months

Survey on Personal Travel

• Key sources of information used by travelers in planning their trips were word of mouth (58.3%), followed by Internet (25.0%) and, travel agent and travel/lifestyle magazines and newspapers (16.7% each).

• Top concerns for travelers when traveling to a foreign destination were security and safety issues (33.3%), not being able to get the right kind of food and drinking water, going through immigration/customs and losing one’s credit cards/bank cards (16.7% each).

• The main activities travelers engaged in when traveling were shopping (83.3%), followed by general sightseeing and scenic spots (58.3%) and experiencing different cuisines (25%).

• Most preferred shopping items for travelers when abroad included apparel and personal effects (50%), electronic and audio visual products (41.7%) and local souvenirs/antiques/ arts & crafts (33.3%).

• Filipino travelers preferred traveling to Hong Kong (50%) and Singapore (41.7%).

Survey on Business Travel

• 5% of business travelers said that over the last 12 months, there was the need to travel more compared to the previous period.

• Hong Kong (35%) was the most frequently visited destination, followed by Singapore (20% each) and Thailand (15%).

• Majority of business travelers (45%) used a travel arrangement company engaged by their company for making business travel arrangements.

• Philippines Airlines (50%) was the most preferred airline for business travel, followed by Singapore Airlines (25%) Cathay Pacific (15% each).

• Three-star/medium priced hotels (50%) were most preferred for business travel, followed by international four-star hotels (20%), international five-star/ higher end hotels and serviced apartments (15% each).

Environment and Travel

• The majority of the respondents (90.3%) are not letting this affect their personal and business travel plans. 9.7% said they would make less personal and business trips because of environmental concerns. None of the respondents said they would make more trips.

SINGAPORE - Forecast on Outbound Travel for the First Half of 2008

• 4.5% year-on-year growth • 2.9million outbound travelers forecasted for the next six months

Survey on Personal Travel

• Key sources of information used by travelers in planning their trips were the Internet (63.0%), followed by travel promotions/fairs (58.6%) and travel agent (45.1%).

• Top concerns for travelers when traveling to a foreign destination were security and safety issues (58.6%), getting lost (51.5%) and fear of losing one’s passport (49.2%).

• The main activities travelers engaged in when traveling were shopping (67.7%), followed by entertainment (67%) and rest and relaxation (57.2%).

• Most preferred shopping items for travelers when abroad included apparel and personal effects (65%), local souvenirs/antiques/arts & crafts (50.8%) and food items (47.1%).

• The favorite personal travel destinations for Singaporean travelers were Hong Kong (37.7%) and Australia (30.6%).

Survey on Business Travel

• 13.8% of business travelers said that over the last 12 months, there was the need to travel more compared to the previous period.

• China (48.1%) was the most frequently visited destination, followed by Thailand (25%) and Hong Kong (20.6%).

• Majority of business travelers (46.9%) used the company’s in-house travel department for making business travel arrangements.

• Singapore Airlines (65.6%) was the most preferred airline for business travel, followed by Cathay Pacific (5.6%) and Thai Airways (5% each).

• International four-star hotels (36.9%) were most preferred for business travel, followed by international five-star spas and resorts (28.1%) and international five-star/higher end hotels (21.3%).

Environment and Travel

• The majority of the respondents (71.5%) are not letting this affect their personal and business travel plans. 21.1% said they would make less personal and business trips because of environmental concerns and 7.2% said they would make more.

The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Travel - First Half 2008 Market Specific Highlights features the following countries: Australia and China, Hong Kong and Indonesia, Japan and Korea, Malaysia and New Zealand, Philippines and Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

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