Foreign Holidays Back in Season Despite Downturn

Going on holiday is back on the cards again despite the recession, with a global survey showing one in five people plan to travel overseas, even if it's largely within their region. The survey by credit card firm MasterCard asked over 10,600 people in West Asia, Africa and the Asia-Pacific about their travel priorities for the next six months, and the findings are likely to cheer the global travel industry which has had a rough year due to global financial crisis.

Some 20 per cent of respondents said they plan to spend on international travel packages, with Hong Kongers topping the list of people planning holidays abroad, followed by Singaporeans and Saudi Arabians. African respondents were the most keen to travel long haul and go to the US, Canada or European destinations, but for the majority, their top 10 holiday destinations were largely within their own region. Japan, Australia and China were the most popular countries for prospective travellers in the Asia-Pacific, while West Asians were more likely to visit Egypt and the UAE, the survey showed.

Resilience of Industry

Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Asia-Pacific economic adviser for MasterCard Worldwide, said the survey showed the resilience of the travel industry in parts of the world not as badly affected by the global financial crisis as the US and Europe.

The survey involved 24 countries and territories, from Australia to Nigeria. "Although travel patterns have changed moderately, we see that consumers' appetite for travel has held up through the recession," Hedrick-Wong said in a statement.

"The fact that Asia has been the region that has been least affected by the global recession also means that spending on travel by Asian consumers will likely re-bound more strongly in the coming months as well."

Across the 14 markets surveyed in Asia-Pacific, 22 per cent said they were planning a holiday abroad, compared to 20 per cent six months ago. Nearly 60 per cent stated international travel was a priority non-essential, or discretionary, spend.

In West Asia, almost a Quarter were planning trips abroad, down from a third six months ago, but nearly 90 per cent said the strongly believed in spending money on travel. In Africa, some 17 per cent of respondents plan to spend on international air travel, the survey showed, a figure Hedrick-Wong said was likely to rise in the coming years in line with economic growth and rising incomes.

SOURCE:
The Hindu Business Line
Date - 29 November 2009
Edition - New Delhi