New study reveals that travelers’ misconceptions likely to cost Asia Pacific tourism billions in 2006

Visa International Asia Pacific (Visa) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) released Tuesday, the Asia Travel Intentions Survey 2006 report, which investigated the attitudes of potential travelers to Asia from 10 key markets (The study surveyed 5,601 respondents across 10 global markets - Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, the UK and the US. This year’s study paralleled a similar investigation of travel intentions among the same countries conducted in March 2005.) The report reveals increasing willingness to visit Asia compared with a similar survey a year ago. Of individuals intending to travel internationally in 2006, 43% are considering Asia as a holiday destination. Of those travelers considering Asia, about 80% rate their likelihood of visiting the region at more than 50%.

However, the study, which was conducted by AC Nielsen for Visa and PATA, highlights a number of concerns that are holding back the growth in the Asian tourism market. While unease about the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami and fears of a repetition are not the greatest concern, they nevertheless cast a significant shadow.

Travelers are concerned about their safety in Asia and one in five is misinformed as to the locations where terrorism has occurred. 58% say that the potential for terrorism makes them less likely to visit Asia and the same percentage also say that negative media reports would make them less likely to travel to Asia. More than two thirds of respondents (69%) say they would be less likely to visit Asia if their governments issued travel warnings. The study also uncovered that potential travelers need urgent access to accurate information.

While Tsunamis were not seen as a considerable barrier to travel (35% say they were less likely to visit Asia because of the Tsunami), those who did cite it as a concern were frequently misinformed. Nearly 16 months after the December 2004 Tsunami, a significant number of potential Asian travelers say that several markets (including China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Philippines and Singapore – markets unaffected by the December 2004 Tsunami) were “still severely or somewhat affected” by the Tsunami.

Bird flu has also now emerged as a hurdle to travel in Asia. Approximately one third of respondents do not know which areas have been affected, and more than one in five believe that areas with no reported cases have been affected. Without belittling the potential threat of bird flu, clearly ignorance is proving to be an unnecessary inhibitor to travel.

“Travelers’ perceptions do not always reflect the reality of a situation, and ignorance is costing the industry billions,” said Paul Dowling, Visa Asia Pacific’s Executive Vice President for Corporate Relations. “In 2005, international Visa cardholders traveling in Asia spent nearly US$24 billion. This study shows that while Asia continues to show its resilience as a tourism market, money is being left on the table. Better consumer education would make a big difference, bringing billions of extra tourism dollars, particularly by the high spending travelers, into Asia.”

Dowling added, “For our part, we in the travel industry need to be more proactive in getting the facts in front of consumers. We believe this study goes along way to identifying consumers’ concerns that need to be addressed by the travel industry.”

PATA President and CEO Peter de Jong said, “The overall numbers of the survey are encouraging; more travelers are considering returning to Asia Pacific. However, we feel that closer collaboration is required among the media and the travel industry to ensure travelers have a clear understanding of the Asia Pacific region. When our survey tells us that an average of 18% of respondents identified unaffected areas of the 2004 Tsunami as ‘severely affected’ or ‘somewhat affected,’ we know there is work to do on this front.”

When asked where they obtain information about their upcoming holiday destinations, an overwhelming 82% of the respondents report that they search the internet. “Travelmarketers and tourism organizations would do well to maximize the reach of the internet,” said Dowling. “The survey showed that potential travelers use multiple sources for information to make travel decisions and the internet is top of the list. Providing up-to-date information on websites and monitoring the internet to ensure erroneous data is corrected swiftly and forcibly would greatly assist travelers in making more informed travel decisions.”

Individual Country Findings

The study shows that travelers from Asia are most likely to travel to within Asia. However, outside of the region, travelers from Sweden, Germany and Austria are most likely to consider Asia in 2006. Aside from actual volume, the US showed the greatest increase in the proportion considering Asia compared with 2005. The only country to show a decline was China, which went from 62% to 42%. Fears over potential terrorist attacks were cited as the main reasons for this decline.

Fears over Safety and Security

Fears over safety and security in Asia resulted in contrasting responses from those surveyed. Results show the Chinese market is the most concerned about traveling to other Asian countries because of safety and security concerns (82%), while countries with the least concern were France (57%) and Germany (50%).

Threat of Bird Flu

Bird flu is also proving a barrier to travel in Asia in many markets. In Japan, 79% believe bird flu to be “a significant problem in some parts of Asia.” Travelers from Germany also agreed with this statement (72%), while Korea represented the market least concerned, at 52%.

Long lasting Impact of the Tsunami

Lingering concerns over the December 2004 Tsunami remain a factor in most markets. Agreeing with the statement, “Facilities and amenities in  areas affected by the Tsunami are still badly damaged,” were respondents from Japan and Canada (both 58%), the US (57%) and France and China (both at 56%). Sweden at 40% and Australia at 42% were the least concerned.

Cost of Airfares

On airfare taxes making the cost of travel too expensive, about 58% of French, 55% of Japanese and 53% of Chinese respondents agreed with this notion. Sweden (34%) and Australia (37%) were the least likely to agree.

“Overall, we see the year ahead as one with great potential,” said Dowling. “The tourism infrastructure is growing, and the region is gearing up for events such as the Beijing 2008 Olympics. We hope that national tourism organizations, policy makers, tourism operators and regional merchants will find this information useful in better understanding travelers’ concerns and thereby stimulate even more business for this most exciting part of the world.”

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