SINGAPORE (July 3): A survey by multi-currency travel wallet firm YouTrip found that 7 in 10 Singaporeans still wish to travel in 2020. This is in spite of global uncertainty arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen lockdown measures and travel bans instituted worldwide.
The YouTrip Travel Intent Survey 2020 was conducted to uncover the outlook on travel recovery and understand post-COVID-19 travel behaviour of 6,000 Singaporeans. It was conducted from 17 June 2020 to 24 June 2020, targeting YouTrip users aged 18 and above.
“It’s encouraging to see signs of travel recovering after months of pent up demand. Within our community of users, many of them are avid travellers who I believe will be amongst the first movers for the initial travel recovery,” says YouTrip’s CEO and founder Caecilia Chu.
According to the poll, slightly more than half are planning to travel as soon as travel restrictions lift within the year. Two out of 10 reported that they would be willing to travel if offered an attractive promotion, implying that both border restrictions and prices could aid recovery in the travel industry. Millennials aged 25-34 are the most likely to travel immediately in contrast to 22% of travellers aged 35-44 and 11% of those 55-64.
Traditional favourites like Japan (23%), Thailand (12%) and Malaysia (11%) continue to top the list for respondents, with Australia (8%), South Korea (7%), Taiwan (6%) and China (5%) not far behind. The survey also found that 25% more Singaporeans are willing to travel to Covid-19 hotspot countries in 1H2021 (40%) as compared to 2020 (15%), suggesting that tourism recovery for most affected countries will be a gradual one.
So strong is the travel bug among Singaporeans that 85% of the respondents were willing to fork out more money on their next holiday. Of the respondents, 4 in 10 are prepared to budget an additional 30% or more to offset cancelled trips in 2020. Brian Pearce, Chief Economist from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), projects flight tickets to cost 43%-54% more than prior to the pandemic due to in-flight social distancing policies, which could see 72% of respondents waiting for promotional prices before making plans to enjoy better value.
Local travellers also appreciate “pay now, travel later” schemes -- 7 out of 10 Singaporeans have expressed interest in taking up such promotions if discounts are 50% or more. Introducing perks like stay flexibility and full refund eligibility could also encourage takeup rates.
“We’re taking the time to anticipate and understand the new-normal of travel, and the different ways it’ll impact travellers. With this understanding, YouTrip will be ready to better serve our users' needs once travel resumes,” adds a confident Chu.
Should travel not be possible this year, 28% of respondents will be saving their travel money instead. For those who insist on some self-pampering, local staycations (15%), shopping (14%) and visiting local tourist attractions (5%) have been cited as some of the more prominent alternatives.
