SINGAPORE – Singapore was the most popular destination of business travelers and tourists in the Asia-Pacific region, global payments company MasterCard International said Tuesday.
A regional survey by MasterCard also showed Singapore Airlines was the most preferred airline, most travellers shunned Internet bookings, and the Chinese were the most upbeat about their travel prospects.
The "Asian Lifestyles" poll was conducted in December with 5,457 respondents drawn from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
Approximately 400 respondents per market were interviewed, except for China where 600 were contacted.
In terms of countries visited for business, the survey showed Singapore was the top destination (17 percent of respondents), followed closely by China (16), the United States (14) and Hong Kong (12).
For personal travel, top destinations were Singapore (14 percent), the United States (13), Hong Kong (13), Australia (12) and Thailand (12).
In a press statement, Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic advisor to MasterCard International, said: "From the point of view of Asia/Pacific's transition from an export-driven mode of growth to a consumption-led mode of growth, innovations in lifestyles are emerging as a decisive driving force.
"Asian consumers will be in the driver's seat, and their decisions, tastes, and preferences will determine how and what businesses will thrive and prosper."
Most business travels took place within the Asia-Pacific region (75 percent), followed by North America (17), primarily to the United States, and Europe (16), mainly to Western Europe).
Across the region, Singapore Airlines was rated the top airline for business trips (17 percent). Other preferred carriers were Cathay Pacific (12), Malaysian Airlines (10), Thai Airways International (9) and China Airlines (9).
For personal trips, Hong Kong respondents (68 percent) traveled more than others in the region, followed by respondents from New Zealand (32), Taiwan (31) and Singapore (30).
South Koreans (18 percent) were the biggest business travelers, followed by Hong Kong respondents (17) and Singaporeans and Taiwanese (13 percent each).
The respondents who traveled least for personal reasons included those from Indonesia (four percent), India (three) and China (three).
But China respondents were the most upbeat about future personal trips, with 50 percent expecting an increase in such travels within the next six months. Similar expectations were evident among respondents from Korea (49), Japan (29), Taiwan (26) and Thailand (25).
Singapore Airlines was also the most popular choice (16 percent) for those traveling on personal trips, followed by Cathay Pacific (11), Thai Airways (10), Qantas Airways (9), Malaysian Airlines (8) and China Airlines (8).
The survey showed most travellers still prefer the traditional way of making airline bookings, resorting to travel agents and other "offline methods," rather than using the Internet.
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