Japan tops the list as Singapore travellers intend to take more trips in 2024
04/02/2024
According to Visa's Global Travel Intentions Study, rest and relaxation, enjoying local food and dining remain primary travel motivators.
According to Visa's Global Travel Intentions Report, Singapore travellers are planning to take an average of 4.6 trips this year, with Japan emerging as the top preferred destination. Singapore travellers plan to stay an average duration of 7.4 nights for each trip. Rest and relaxation, enjoying local food and dining, and shopping remain primary travel motivators for Singapore travellers.1
Japan overtakes Malaysia as preferred travel destination this year
In terms of preferred travel destinations, Japan tops the list (21%) followed closely by Malaysia (18%), and Australia (15%), and these destinations are aligned with travellers from the Asia Pacific region. More than half of the travellers surveyed cited Japan’s diverse local food and dining scene as the primary reason for choosing to visit the country. Last year, Malaysia emerged as a key destination, thanks to its local cuisine, affordability due to a favourable exchange rate, and extensive shopping options. More than three-quarter of Singapore travellers expressed their intention to revisit Malaysia in the next 12 months.2
Adeline Kim, Visa Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei said, “We are excited to see the return of travel and looking at Visa’s data, travel spend by our cardholders has exceeded pre-pandemic levels and continues to grow at more than 40 percent year-on-year.3 In the month of December last year, Japan was the top travel destination in terms of spend for Singaporeans4, and this is aligned with the findings from our Global Travel Intentions Study research. Malaysia also continues to be a popular destination of choice and was the top travel destination in terms of spend last quarter. Travel will continue to be an integral part of Singaporeans' lifestyles and we are committed to providing seamless and secure payment solutions to support their travel aspirations."
With Japan being a top destination for travel for Singaporeans, it is important that the commute and payment experience for Visa cardholders is seamless. In Japan, Visa has been accelerating adoption of contactless, tap-to-ride payment solutions as a benchmark for contactless payments. Japan has made some great progress in laying the foundation for tap to pay in transit. The number of transit projects in relation to Japan’s tap-to-pay initiatives has doubled in the last two years and is the largest in Asia Pacific.
Rest and relaxation remain top motivators
Leisure continues to be the central theme for 2024, with relaxation (61%), shopping (39%) and curiosity/learn something new (32%) being the top three drivers of choice for Singapore travellers. Shopping is a more significant motivator for Singapore travellers compared to Asia Pacific (34%) and global travellers (26%). While word-of-mouth remains a significant influence on travel choices (45%), online sources (travel review sites, posts from family/friends and search engine results) also played a pivotal role (24%).
Singapore travellers recognise the rise in travel costs in 2024
Travellers spent an average of USD3,382 per trip in 2023 where shopping and dining emerged as high-spending categories with an average of USD432 and USD526 spent in each category respectively. Almost 40 percent of Singapore travellers adjust their itineraries due to an increase in travel costs, thereby demonstrating a willingness to compromise on trip flexibility to accommodate rising costs. For 2024, 85 percent of travellers recognise the rise in travel costs and close to half are likely to adjust their itineraries to stay within budget.
Trends that will shape the future of travel
There is also a shift towards key trends that will shape the travel landscape, which include consumers’ interest in playing a more involved role on sustainability when they travel, technology’s role in travel and event tourism. According to Trip.com Group’s latest ESG report, more than 16 million customers have opted for low-carbon travel options, signalling a rising interest in eco-friendly exploration. Visa’s Global Travel Intentions Study also showed that more than 80 percent of Singaporeans are keen to engage in activities that have a lower environmental impact.
1 Global Travel Intentions study (GTI) in Singapore was conducted on April-June 2023 on more than 1,065 Singaporean respondents through an online survey
2 GTI study
3 VisaNet data as of December 2023
4 VisaNet data as of December 2023
About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at www.visa.com.sg