Vacation-deprived Singaporeans optimistic about year-end holidays

 Expedia’s international search results for the year-end period grew by 60% in Q2 2021 versus the previous quarter

Singapore, 2 July 2021 – Confidence in overseas travel is growing among Singaporeans. According to Expedia data[1], searches for international travel during the period of November 2021 to January 2022 grew by 60% in the second quarter (April to June 2021) compared to the previous quarter (January to March 2021).

While international travel restrictions remain largely in place between the city-state and destinations around the world, optimism towards international travel in recent months has been fuelled by higher vaccination rates among the resident population – with 75% of Singapore citizens expected to be inoculated by October 2021.

Searches for staycations grew close to 440% in the second quarter (Q2 2021), which included the June school holidays, compared to the previous quarter (Q1 2021). Despite the recent restrictions imposed as part of the country’s heightened alert, families in Singapore explored safe options to proceed with their staycation plans to fulfill their travel wanderlust.

In total, search volume for domestic and international travel¹ combined grew by 140% from Q1 to Q2.

Lavinia Rajaram, APAC Head of Communications, Expedia Brand said, “The demand that the travel industry is seeing for the year-end travel season demonstrates just how eager Singapore travellers are to get back out there, the perfect opportunity for us to show that it matters who you travel with. Although travellers are excited to get away this year-end season, how our travellers search, book and travel has certainly shifted. Expedia has an important role to play in understanding what it takes to make travellers feel confident in post-vaccination travel era and we have introduced new changes to ensure we are there at every step of their travel planning journey.”

BEACH DESTINATIONS AND LONG-HAUL TRAVEL GROW IN POPULARITY AMONG VACATION-DEPRIVED SINGAPOREANS

 With Singapore as the most vacation-deprived market in the world, as revealed by Expedia’s 2020 Vacation Deprivation® Study, it came as no surprise that Singaporeans are eager to travel internationally. Expedia’s recent search data[2] also revealed a shift in their preferred international destinations, with beach destinations becoming more popular for year-end travel among Singaporeans as compared to the same period in 2019 and 2018, when cooler North Asia destinations like Okinawa, Seoul and Taipei were top choices.

Beach destinations featured prominently in the list of top 10 most-searched international destinations, with the Maldives taking top spot – a big jump from 2018 and 2019, when it took 14^th spot on the list. Other beach destinations that made the top 10 list include Bali, Krabi and Phuket, which took the 4^th, 5^th and 10^th spot respectively.

Fig 1. Top 10 most-searched international destinations, based on hotel searches on Expedia.com.sg between 1 May and 10 June 2021, for travel between November 2021 and January 2022

SINGAPOREANS KEEN TO TRAVEL, BUT FEEL OVERWHELMED WITH PLANNING FOR THEIR NEXT TRIP

Despite growing optimism around international travel for the year-end period, 71% of Singaporeans revealed that they feel overwhelmed with planning their next trip, according to recent findings from Expedia’s Travel Companions Report.

Following a year of extensive research and listening to customer feedback on what travellers want, Expedia recently introduced new features to provide travellers the tools they need to make travel plans they feel confident and excited about, with everything they need in a single place, and support from start to finish to help them get the most out of every trip.

• Download the app: Expedia’s award-winning mobile app makes it easier to plan and keep track of travel plans, with handy push notifications alerting travellers to itinerary changes, easy messaging with your hotel, and a map feature to find nearby things to do.
• Book flexible rates: While many destinations are open, choosing refundable rates allows travellers to snag a great deal or get a trip on the books without worrying about plans needing to change. Filter search results for “free cancellation” or “reserve now, pay later” and select a refundable room type.
• Unlock deeper savings by bundling: Just by booking multiple items at the same time, such as adding an activity or hotel to a flight purchase, travellers can save up to hundreds of dollars on their trip.
• Keep tabs on the latest travel restrictions: With restrictions changing by the day or week, it can be tricky to stay up to date on the latest COVID-related guidelines. Use the COVID-19 Travel Advisory tool which lets travellers type in their origin and destination to see what travel advisories or COVID-19 restrictions are in place.
• Improved support: New Virtual Agent capabilities allow many travellers to view their bookings, check their refund status, ask about hotel amenities or cancel/amend parts of their trips with ease.
• Extra perks: Customers will receive more Expedia Rewards points on app bookings, which can be redeemed on future trips. Plus, premium Expedia Rewards customers booking VIP Access hotels can benefit from room upgrades, spa credits and late check out (subject to availability).

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 About Expedia

Expedia® is one of the world’s leading full-service travel brands, with a mission of helping travellers get the most out of every trip they take by providing everything they need all in one place, ensuring they are getting the most out of their budget and above all else, feel supported every step of the way.

Our commitment to insights matched with our unprecedented scale allows us to understand our travellers better than anyone else, delivering exactly what they need, when they need it. Our personalized experiences backed by incredible technology, enables us to deliver the widest selection of product offerings across accommodations, transportation, activities, and experiences, that help you get the most out of your journey.

Use our mobile app or visit http://www.expedia.com.sg to plan your journey with us.

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[1] Based on searches for hotels on Expedia.com.sg between April to June 2021, for the travel period of November 2021 to January 2022.

[2] Based on searches for hotels on Expedia.com.sg between 1 May to 10 June 2021, for the travel period of November 2021 to January 2022.