Singapore and Thailand tied as the top regional destinations for personal travel in Asia/Pacific, based on the recent MasterIndex on Travel survey conducted by MasterCard International between May to June 2004. Both countries garnered 16 percent of the respondent base, followed by China with 13 percent. The most frequently visited countries for business travel were China (23 percent), Singapore (16 percent) and Hong Kong (13 percent).
In the Philippines, the survey revealed that Filipinos display their strong familial ties even when they travel abroad, with 51 percent of respondents citing that the main reason for their personal travels out of the country was “to spend time with family/relatives”. This was followed by “Rest and Relaxation” at 46 percent, and lastly, “to see new places” at 44 percent, 93 percent of Filipino respondents who had made personal trips in the past 12 months also considered international personal travel as an important element in their lifestyles. For business travel, meanwhile, 75 percent of respondents that traveled for business said they had more trips in the past 12 months within the Asia/Pacific region than outside the region; 19 percent made more trips outside the region; and 5 percent said that they had made about the same as in the previous period.
Locally, Philippine Airlines (26 percent) was the single most preferred carrier for business travel, followed by both Singapore Airlines and other airlines (tied at 13 percent). Consistent with the regional results, 26 percent of Filipino respondents identified China and Singapore their most frequently visited countries, followed by Japan (23 percent).
The MasterIndex of Travel, conducted twice a year, is designed to monitor business and personal travel trends among the urban middle class across the region. The survey polled 6,000 consumers in 13 markets across Asia/Pacific, consisting of Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Approximately 400 respondents per market were interviewed, except for China where 600 interviews were conducted (200 each in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou).
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