In the news: Visa’s Global Travel Intentions Study 2015 on travel spend, and new NokScoot/Sabre and Eva Air/Travelport partnerships.
Souvenirs and memories: APAC tourists are the world’s top travel spenders
APAC travellers are big spenders for vacations. (Image credit: cyther5/iStock)
Travellers from Asia Pacific trumped their counterparts from the rest of the world in intended future travel spend with the sharpest rise in anticipated travel budgets for their next international leisure holidays at 71%.
The Americas followed at 66%, and Europe 56%.
The findings from the Visa’s Global Travel Intentions Study 2015 also revealed that respondents from Malaysia reported the highest increase in intended spending for their next trip (118%), followed by Hong Kong and South Korea (both 94%).
When asked about their travel budget behaviour, half of all respondents (54%) said they started planning for their international trips with a fixed travel budget in mind. However, seven in 10 (71%) said they did not mind paying extra for interesting or unique activities they encountered during a trip.
Other key findings:
- Global travellers surveyed took an average of US$1,000 with them in cash while on holiday. Asia Pacific travellers carried an average of US$1,081, putting them behind travellers from Africa & Middle East who carried US$2,000. In contrast, travellers from the Americas carried US$936, while those from Europe took just US$566.
- Globally, men tend to carry more cash (US$1,129) than women (US$893) on international leisure trips.
- Purchasing souvenirs for friends and colleagues is part of the travel experience for most global leisure travellers. In addition to the travel ‘big ticket’ items such as air fare, local transport, and accommodation, the most common purchases are local apparel (37%), local nibbles (37%), and local handicrafts (34%).
- Travellers from Asia Pacific tended to load their luggage with local food specialties (46%), while those from the Americas and Africa and the Middle East are most likely to bring home local apparel (45% each). Travellers from Europe, however, have a penchant for purchasing refrigerator magnet keepsakes as souvenirs (31%)
- While women were found to buy slightly more souvenirs there was, however, no difference between men and women in the top three souvenirs they bought –local food specialties, local apparel, and local arts and crafts.
“Asia Pacific travellers are driving the global travel spend, and we expect this trend to continue. Asia Pacific is an extremely well connected region, and it will benefit from much of the increased spend from within the region. The intention to increase spend certainly shows a desire to have new experiences and unique activities while abroad, ” said Vivian Pan, senior director of cross-border and channel marketing, Visa Asia Pacific.
Intended spend for next leisure travel versus previous trip (US$)
NokScoot expands brand presence in partnership with Sabre
NokScoot to fly higher with new routes. (Image credit: NokScoot)
Bangkok based low-cost long-haul carrier, NokScoot, has selected Sabre Travel Network as its first partner to merchandise its expanding inventory.
The distribution agreement between the two companies enables over 100,000 Sabre-connected travel agents to shop and book the Thai carrier.
The airline, based at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport, has two-class configuration – economy and a premium cabin class, Scootbiz, which includes preferred seat selection and a 20kg baggage allowance.
Piya Yodmani, chief executive officer of NokScoot said: “With Sabre Travel Network we can build a strong brand presence within the travel agent channel, reaching the wider feeder markets with our differentiated value proposition. Sabre will also help to promote our two-class service and the new routes that we have planned.”
NokScoot currently operates services to Nanjing and Taipei, and will add Qingdao by the end of this year, subject to regulatory approval.
EVA Air turns to Travelport for business intelligence
EVA Air has new partner in Travelport.
EVA Air is implementing Travelport’s Airline Insight business intelligence and reporting solution for strategic planning decisions.
According Travelport, EVA Air teams in agency sales, revenue management and network planning benefit from the solution’s user interface, data presentation and reporting.
“The versatility of this web-based analytical tool ensures that the investments the airline makes in rich data sources such as MIDT, Illuminate Market Size, QSI, and others can deliver direct revenue benefits and result in more informed and effective business decisions across a wider range of opportunities for EVA Air.”
Bret Kidd, Travelport’s vice president & general manager, air commerce technologies, said of the partnership: “EVA Air operates in a market that sees intense competition from both full service carriers as well as low cost carriers. It needs clarity on its home market, regional markets and away markets. Airline Insight’s ability to support both MIDT and Market Size data to give a complete view of O&D traffic is therefore essential.”
