Sunset at Kata Tjuta in Australia’s Northern Territory. Courtesy Thierry Douin

Forty percent of the 6,714 respondents surveyed in this year’s research said they would consider travelling to Australia or Japan in the next two years. When asked to name the most likely destination for their next Asia Pacific holiday, 17% named Australia as their top destination while 16% named Japan.

Ross Jackson, Head of Cross-Border Business, Asia Pacific, Visa, said with Australia’s great natural beauty and Japan’s rich culture and history it is not surprising that one in five people would consider visiting these destinations in the next two years.

"With the allure of visiting new places, beautiful natural scenery, affordability and great food the predominant factors in what motivates people to pick a destination, the all round tourism products in these destinations puts them high on any traveller’s list."

Not surprisingly, the land "Down Under" is most popular with Kiwis with 59% picking Australia as their mostly likely holiday destination, followed by travellers from the UK (29%), US (20%) and Japan (17%).
Japan is the top pick for holiday-makers from South Korea (38%), Chinese Taipei (34%), Thailand (26%) and Hong Kong (22%).

In this year’s survey, respondents were also asked which previously visited destination they would personally recommend. Again, Japan (12%) and Australia (10%) were the most recommended destinations, followed by Singapore, Thailand and Mainland China (8% each).

Sakura tress in Ueno Park, Japan. Courtesy Lucas Peng

Greg Duffell, PATA CEO said, "Travel intention intelligence such as is revealed in this annual survey from Visa and PATA is critical for today’s destination and product marketers given the pressures placed on them to improve returns on investment even as budgets are being squeezed. It is vital to gain insight into where one’s customers want to go next."

He noted that "one of the most heartening features from this year’s report is the relatively wide spread of Asia Pacific destinations under consideration by the 13 source markets studied, including the long-haul sources of the UK and the USA."

Other key findings from the survey:

Travel Style: Almost half of all those surveyed (47%) said they arranged their trips themselves by booking directly with hotels and airlines. Self-organised travel was the top travel style for respondents from the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia. Flexible individual tours, which allow travellers to choose their own activities were the next most preferred way to travel (22%). Packaged group tours were most likely to be booked by travellers from Mainland China (33%), Chinese Taipei (29%) and Thailand (28%).

Trip Duration: Most travellers spend three to five nights on vacation, with 32% of respondents saying this was how long they had been away on average over the last two years.

Accommodation: Travellers surveyed were most partial to staying at four-star (27%) and three-star (21%) hotels. Respondents from Singapore (47%) were most likely to stay at a four-star hotel, while Indian (33%) and Malaysian (32%) travellers were most likely to pick a three-star hotel. Luxury hotels were most popular with travellers from Hong Kong (25%) and Chinese Taipei (20%). Resorts were favoured by Korean holiday-makers (25%).

Travel Companions: Most travellers tend to holiday with their spouse or partner, with 48% saying they had done so on their travels over the last two years. Holidaying with family and relatives was popular with respondents from Singapore (42%) and Thailand (40%), while 35% of respondents from India said they had travelled with their children. Respondents from Chinese Taipei (28%) and China (26%) travelled alone the most during their international holidays.