Get Inside the Mind of Southeast Asian Travelers

To better understand consumer behaviors and preferences, it is useful to analyze the decisions travelers make in relation to a single travel experience. We asked Southeast Asian travelers to reflect on each stage of planning and travel for their last leisure trip, including motivation, destination selection, shopping and booking methods, channel and device selection, and social networking – providing timely insight into the current state of online consumer travel in Southeast Asia.

For Southeast Asian travelers, the most common motivators when planning a leisure trip are a desire to take a break, spending time with loved ones, and available vacation time away from work.

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In Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, a desire to get away was the most commonly cited reason by a wide margin, with roughly two-thirds of travelers seeking a break. For Thai travelers, available vacation time away was the top motivator.

"Indonesian and Malaysian travelers also demonstrated some notable differences," said Phocuswright's research analyst, Asia Pacific, Chetan Kapoor. "Indonesian travelers were much more likely than those in other markets to travel for the purpose of visiting a major attraction, and Malaysian travelers were more likely to focus on spending time with friends/family."

When choosing a destination, travelers across markets were influenced by a variety of factors. Indonesians were most likely to be influenced by recommendations from friends and family, while the most commonly cited influencer for Thais was natural attractions. By comparison, Malaysian and Singaporeans were more focused on practical matters: whether the destination fit with travel dates, and the price of airline tickets.

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Learn more about Southeast Asian traveler preferences and behaviors.