Tripadvisor study shows strong appetite for new places but uncertainty continues to hold travellers back
TRAVELLERS in Singapore are the most optimistic about planning to travel in 2022, followed by those in Australia and Japan, according to new travel research by Tripadvisor.
‘Travel in 2022 – A Look Ahead’, conducted in partnership with Ipsos More, showed travel optimism to be highest in Singapore, with 82% reporting they are likely to vacation in 2022, up 2% compared to 2019. Australia (72%) and Japan (51%) are trending similarly, with those who are planning a leisure trip in 2022 up 7% and 5% from those who reported traveling in 2019, respectively.
The intention to travel is reflected globally with the study showing that across five key markets – US, UK, Singapore, Australia and Japan – those likely to travel for leisure purposes in 2022 outpaces pre-pandemic reported travel levels.
In the UK, 78% of respondents said that they are likely to travel for leisure in 2022, compared to 72% of those who said that they travelled for leisure in 2019, while in the US, 2022 leisure travel intent is up 8 percentage points (pp) compared to 2019, with 71% saying they are likely to travel for leisure in 2022.
Other key findings from the study:
• Average spend per trip for 2022 is beyond that of 2019, as travellers look to level up their travel experience
American, Australian and Singaporean travellers are expected to increase their spending while Japanese and British travellers indicated they’d spend less.
However, in terms of sentiment, over a quarter of travellers in each of the five markets surveyed said it is more important now than before the pandemic to splurge on a big trip, with Americans (29%) leading the pack, followed by Singapore and Australia (28%), Japanese (27%) and UK (25%).
• Domestic travel continues to lead the way
Even within the limited domestic market of Singapore, 74% of Singaporeans plan to travel domestically for leisure, compared with
53% who plan to travel abroad for leisure. Seventy-three percent of Brits say they plan to travel within the UK for leisure compared with 48% planning to travel abroad.
In the US and in Australia, 68% of respondents in each market said they are likely to travel domestically in 2022, while 29% of Americans said they are likely to travel overseas in 2022 compared to 38% of Australians.
In Japan, 50% of Japanese respondents reported that they are likely to travel within their home country in 2022, compared to 10% of those likely to travel internationally.
• Travellers are seeking new travel experiences in 2022 and beyond
In terms of appetite for seeking the new, Americans were the heartiest at 75%, saying it’s important they “see new places”, followed by 74% of Australians, 73% of Singaporeans, 70% of Britons and over half (59%) in Japan.
The top three most important considerations, across the markets surveyed, in future travel plans to visit a destination was to get immersive by seeing new places, having new experiences and learning about history and culture.
Forty-four percent of Singaporean travellers, 38% of Australians and a third (34%) of Americans and UK travellers respectively said that it’s more important now than before the pandemic that they choose a destination where they can immerse themselves in “authentic local experiences”. A quarter (25%) of Japanese travellers said the same.
• Covid-19 case counts, safety protocols, quarantine restrictions, and cleanliness are all key factors in travel decision making in 2022
But there’s no running away from the pandemic with the majority of travellers saying cleanliness measures of a hospitality business will be an important factor in their travel decision making next year, even after Covid-19 cases have dropped worldwide.
Approximately seven in 10 respondents in each of the markets said that destinations that have a low number of COVID-19 cases are important when making a decision on where to travel next.
And uncertainty around possible travel restrictions will hold most people back from travelling next year – with one-third of Brits (32%) and Americans (33%), over half (55%) of Singaporeans, 47% of Australians and a quarter (25%) of Japanese respondents citing that reason.
Featured image: Marseille, France
