Thai tourists are doubling their travel budgets

Visa’s regular barometer of travel trends also uncovered Thais’ top travel destinations will remain in APAC for the next year. Japan emerged as the top destination – with Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and China rounding out the top five destinations. The Scandinavian countries do not market themselves so they are not on the map.

“It’s clear that Thais love to travel – whether domestically or abroad,” said Somboon Krobteeranon, Visa Country Manager for  Thailand and Myanmar.

“This year’s Visa Global Travel Intentions study discovered that Thai travel behaviors are beginning to change as more go online to book their trips, and use Visa payment cards  on-the-go. Visa credit or debit cards offer greater security for travelers, and peace of mind knowing that Visa is accepted worldwide and travelers don’t have to carry large amounts of cash.”

 

A Profile of the Thai Tourist
Travel is very much a group affair: 71 percent travel with their family or spouses; 38 percent (vs. 19 percent global average) travel with their friends or colleagues and their travel group sizes can go up to six or more people (23 percent vs. 10 percent global average).

• Since most travel to nearby countries, short haul flights (53 percent) are more common. With the strong presence of budget airlines in the country, most prefer either economy or budget flights.
• As their trips are usually short getaways, most extend their weekends and public holidays to escape from the city.
• While most would go for cheaper options of travel, consumers are willing to spend on more comfortable lodging – choosing 1-3 stars or 4 stars and above accommodation.

Thai tourists are fond of traveling in groups.

International Visitors to Thailand to Spend More
Visitors to Thailand also plan to travel more as well as spend more. Among travelers across the four global regions (APAC; the Americas; Middle East; and Africa; Europe), 77 percent of respondents from APAC indicated a strong intention to travel more in the future.

• Much of this increased travel is expected to take place within the region, where 80 percent of Asian travelers have chosen to take trips in the last two years.
  
• These travelers are also spending more. For those who have traveled within the region, they spend an average of US $273 per day, higher than both the global average (US $239) and any other region.
  

 

Visa’s 2013 Global Travel Intentions Study
The Visa Global Travel Intentions Study 2013 was commissioned by Visa to Millward Brown. Fieldwork was conducted between November and December 2012. It was based on online and offline surveys with 12,631 travelers aged 18 and above, across 25 markets in Asia Pacific (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand), Europe (France, Germany, Russia, UK), Africa & Middle East (Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UAE), and the Americas (Brazil, Canada, Mexico, USA).

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 30,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visitcorporate.visa.com