Consumer optimism high as 7 out of 10 Thai travellers planning to spend more on travel in 2013

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TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, has announced the results of the world’s largest accommodation and traveller survey, the “TripBarometer by TripAdvisor”. This study reports on top travel and hospitality industry trends according to more than 35,000 travellers and hoteliers around the world. The results of the TripBarometer revealed insights into the booking behavior of Thai travellers as well as the importance of online reviews and social media when it comes to planning a trip and even during a trip.

Thai Travellers in Profile

According to the TripBarometer, four in five (83%) of Thai travellers are planning to increase their travel budget in 2013. Only 6 per cent are planning to spend less with 11 per cent spending the same as last year.

When it comes to booking of accommodation, the top 5 factors that influenced them are price, location, attractions or nearby activities, accommodation amenities and online review.

Top 5 Factors that influenced accommodation booking

  • Price – 72% (76% globally)
  • Location – 58% (68% globally)
  • Attractions or nearby activities – 5-% (35% globally)
  • Accommodation amenities – 45% (34% globally)
  • Online reviews – 30% (44% globally)

When asked how many properties they would consider before making a booking, 72 per cent of Thai travellers said they would consider 1 to 5 properties, 21 per cent said they would consider 6 to 10 properties and 3 per cent said they would consider 11 to 15 properties.

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Planning a trip has gone digital

The TripBarometer also revealed that more than nine out of ten Thai travellers (94%) are turning to the Internet to plan their travel. The top source of information amongst Thai travellers when planning their trip is travel review websites, followed by travel operator websites and friends and family.

Top 3 Sources of Information

  • Travel Review Websites – 68% (69% globally)
  • Travel Operator Websites – 66% (56% globally)
  • Friends and Family – 55% (43 % globally)

Thai travellers also ranked highest globally (58%) for being highly influenced by other travellers’ reviews and opinions in travel review websites.

Travellers are online and on social networks even during a holiday
Thai travellers are online and going on social networks even during a trip. They are some of the biggest users globally of social media (52%) when researching and planning their trips, with the most popular being Facebook.

Top 3 social media platforms used to plan last trip

  • Facebook – 88% (76% globally)
  • Google+ – 58% (40% globally)
  • Twitter – 22% (21% globally)

During a trip, the top uses of technology for Thai travellers were “uploaded holiday photos to a social network”, “accessed the Internet through a mobile phone” and “using a mobile app to find attractions or activities”.

Top 3 uses of technology during a trip

  • Uploaded holiday photos to a social network – 67% (39% globally)
  • Accessed the Internet through a mobile phone – 62% (51% globally)
  • Used a mobile app to find attractions or activities – 53% (33% globally)

“In an ever connected world, it is clear that Thai travellers are turning to the Internet for all their travel needs,” said Cindy Tan, Vice President, Asia Pacific at TripAdvisor. “From researching their trips to getting advice and recommendations on where to go and to keeping in contact with friends and loved ones during the trip, the internet is proving to be a trusted and useful ally.”

For the full TripBarometer report, infographic and Thailand specific findings, please go to www.tripadvisorTripBarometer.com/Thailand.

10 thoughts on “Consumer optimism high as 7 out of 10 Thai travellers planning to spend more on travel in 2013

  • April 30, 2013 at 7:00 pm
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    I can’t see anywhere on the report it has the ‘94% of Thais use the internet to plan their holidays’ listed. Is it in that infographic?

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  • April 30, 2013 at 6:45 pm
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    Couple of points.
    TripAdvisor’s PR agency is Edelman…StrategyOne is a global market research and opinion polling firm owned by Edelman. Independent? Hardly.
    Also, the headline would more accurately portray the story if rewritten thus…94% of Thai travellers Use the Internet to Plan their trips.
    And I think you meant to write…”Bangkok is the social media capital of the world” and, of course, source it to Socialbakers.

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    • April 30, 2013 at 6:57 pm
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      Nice job linking up the PR companies, Sidelines.

      I think the headline should be “94% of the 1,000 Thais (assuming equal representation among the 14 countries) who took an online survey from a travel website use the Internet to plan their travel”. That seems much more likely, but not as much fun!

      Reply
  • April 30, 2013 at 6:45 pm
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    No one said anything about Thai people being poor. But, you might want to pick better stats than this. 335,121 out of 65 million people is 0.5%. Do you think that the fact that 0.5% of Thais leave the country every month is an amazing statistic? Does this statistic have anything to do with the ridiculous claim that 61 out of 65 million Thai people use the Internet to plan their holidays? No.

    I would probably agree that a large number of the the 0.5% who are flying internationally probably use the Internet to plan their travel. But the Bangkok kids going to Ko Samet for the weekend aren’t. Neither are the ones going home to Isaan for Songkran. Hundreds of busses leave Bangkok every day, and I can assure you that 94% of these people did not use the Internet to plan their holidays.

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  • April 30, 2013 at 5:12 pm
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    In March 2013 alone, a total of 335,121 Thais flew out of Suvarnabhumi to another country which is a 34.21% increase on last year. Who said Thais are poor?

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    • April 30, 2013 at 4:44 pm
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      Do you really believe that? Thailand is the social media capital of Thailand with the most Facebook users. It also has some of the most photographed locations on Instagram.

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      • April 30, 2013 at 6:28 pm
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        Yes, I do believe that. Saying that there are a lot of Facebook users from Thailand and a lot of pictures taken on Instagram from Thailand has nothing to do with the fact that a large majority of Thai people (especially those outside of Bangkok) have no need for the Internet and are not online.

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  • April 30, 2013 at 3:09 pm
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    Bollocks. Of course they get a high percentage. 100% of those that they ask have answered the questions on TripAdvisor on the internet, so they are active on a travel website. It’s like going into a Toyota shop asking how many of the customer will consider a Toyota for their next car. If you asked people you meet in downtown Nakhon Nowhere, they would probably get closer to 20%. TripAdvisor is unfortunately rather unreliable, not only with regards to this.

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    • April 30, 2013 at 4:46 pm
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      The survey was carried out by independent research firm StrategyOne.

      Reply

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