Marc Woo, Partnership Lead, Travel and Tourism, Google (pictured right), in his presentation at the WIT Hospitality Workshop in Kuala Lumpur last week said 64% of the 10 top-searched travel destination queries in first quarter 2013 are in Malaysia.

Thailand came in second with 6%, USA 4%, Singapore 3.7%, Australia 3.5%, UK 2.1%, Indonesia 2%, Japan 1.8%, China 1.5% a d France 1.2%.

However, when it comes to choosing where to holiday overseas Malaysians prefer their own backyard, opting for ASEAN destinations. Phuket heads the list as the most popular search travel spot in Q1 2013, followed by Bangkok, Bali, Perth and Singapore, making up the top five most searched travel spots.

Within Malaysia the most searched destinations on Google are theme parks, with Legoland Malaysia, Asia’s first Legoland theme park in Iskandar Malaysia (Johor) as the top tourist destination searched and visited in the quarter previewed.

Another interesting travel habit of Malaysians is their love for bridges. The Putrajaya Bridge in Malaysia’s administrative capital and the Penang Bridge are among the must visits when travelling domestically.

Some key findings: (see full presentation in slides below)

• Search demand for travel tends to peak in earlier in the week in what Woo cited as the “Monday Blues Effect”, but dips around Thursdays to Fridays as people prepare for the weekend and so do not spend time on search.
• Travel interests are highest between September to October as travellers plan for year end holidays and school break, and slow in January and February.
• Malaysians are increasingly turning to mobile to search for travel information and book travel. Hotel and accommodation searches via mobile grew148% in Q1 2013 vs Q1 2010, and this is set to grow exponentially. This trend is not surprising as 40% of the population in Malaysia own two smartphones.

“Malaysians are relying more and more on search to research and plan their travel, and how they search could have a bearing on the travel industry,” added Woo.