Hong Kong Overtakes Thailand as Most Popular Destination for Singapore Travellers

According to data from the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index, Thailand, which has traditionally been the hottest outbound destination for many Singapore travellers, has in the past six months been overtaken by Hong Kong to become the most popular destination abroad.

Despite the recent political turmoil in Thailand, Bangkok is still proving to be a destination hotspot for Singapore travellers – with the capital city only falling one spot to become the second most popular overseas destination.

The findings also revealed vast opportunities across Thailand’s wide array of beach resorts, as tourists increasingly opt for beach getaways away from the capital. In fact, for the first time, Krabi (19th) entered the running as one of the Top 20 destinations abroad for travellers from Singapore.

Tokyo experienced the biggest fall in the Top 10 list, taking a three-step tumble from third position to sixth. Taking its place was Taipei and Seoul, which rose one and two spots respectively to inch their way into the Top 5 destinations for travellers from Singapore.

“Looking ahead, we expect Taipei and Seoul to maintain their positions as top overseas destinations for travellers from Singapore, especially as these cities continue with their aggressive marketing initiatives,” said Katherine Cole, Regional Director, ANZ & Singapore for the Hotels.com brand.

The results also showed that Penang experienced the greatest jump within the list, leaping four spots to enter the Top 10.

“Penang has definitely regained its appeal as an ideal destination for Singapore travellers over the past year, especially with its heritage attractions and rising popularity as a food city,” said Cole. “As travellers increasingly look to the UNESCO heritage site as a viable short-haul destination, we are also seeing more Singaporeans taking advantage of the long weekends to make a short trip up.”

The Hotel Price Index is based on bookings made on Hotels.com sites around the world.