The survey, conducted from 13 September to 11 November, covered 10,502 consumers from 24 markets across Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

Japan continues to rank as the most popular travel destination, followed by China and Australia for respondents in Asia Pacific.

Spending on travel continues to hold strong in the Middle East region, with 36% of respondents looking to pack their bags and head off for a vacation.

Pictured left: Cherry blossoms in Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan. Courtesy Lucas Peng

The survey also reveals consumers’ continued interest in travelling to destinations within the region. 88% of would-be travellers in Asia Pacific said they are looking to explore close to home. In the Middle East, 56% of respondents planning trips are looking to do so within the region.

In contrast to this trend of favouring intraregional destinations, the majority of respondents in Africa are looking to visit Europe (68%) and North America (49%).

Of the 24 markets surveyed, respondents in Hong Kong (58%) appear to be the keenest on taking a trip, followed by UAE (47%) and Kuwait (46%).

“It is encouraging to see most markets maintaining a strong appetite for travel, especially with continued interest for trips to destinations within the region,” said Yunsok Chang, group executive, Global Products and Solutions, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, MasterCard Worldwide.

“With consumers prioritising travel as an important part of life, we seek to provide cardholders with solutions and privileges that offer them peace of mind and make travelling more enjoyable.”

Key highlights from the survey include:

Asia Pacific

•  Across Asia Pacific, 23% of respondents surveyed are planning a holiday abroad in the next six months, compared to 24% in the previous survey. Slightly more than half (56%) of these respondents deemed international personal air travel as important to them.

Pictured right: Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Courtesy Corinne Wan

•  Among the Asia Pacific markets, Hong Kong (58%), Singapore (45%) and Taiwan (35%) have the highest number of respondents looking to travel abroad in the next six months.

•  The top five destinations for Asia Pacific travellers are Japan (as indicated by 26% of respondents who plan to spend on travel in the next six months), China (21%), Australia (19%), Hong Kong (18%) and the United States (16%).

•  More female respondents (24%) from Asia Pacific are planning to spend on international personal air travel, compared to their male counterparts (21%) in the next six months.

Middle East

•  Plans to spend on travel are on the rise in the Middle East with 36% of respondents looking to take a trip in the next six months. This is up from 24% of consumers who said they were planning a trip at the same time last year. A large majority (88%) of respondents looking to travel said they view this as an important priority.

•  Among the Middle Eastern markets, United Arab Emirates (47%), Kuwait (46%) and Saudi Arabia (43%) have the highest number of respondents looking to travel abroad in the coming 6 months.

•  Overall, the top five destinations for travellers in the Middle East are Egypt (26%), UAE (20%), Syria (16%), Saudi Arabia (14%) and Lebanon (12%).

Africa

•  In the Africa region, of the 17% willing to spend on international personal air travel, 87% view this as an important priority.

•  Among the African markets, respondents in Nigeria (38%) and Kenya (17%) appear to have the highest propensity to travel.

Pictured right: Rome on a Spring day. Courtesy Yeoh Siew Hoon

•  In contrast to the other regions, the top destinations for travellers in Africa are outside the region: USA (36%), United Kingdom (30%), Canada (22%) and South Africa (22%).

•  More women in Africa (72%) are looking to travel to Europe compared to their male counterparts (64%). Destinations within Asia Pacific seemed to be popular among the male respondents in Africa, with 38% of them choosing these destinations compared to 21% of the female respondents.

Note:The markets covered in the survey include: Australia, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

Featured image credit (designs for a general not country specific passport): Ockra/iStock