We all know that living in a hectic, high-cost city like Singapore or Hong Kong means you need to make your money work as hard as you do. But what does that mean in terms of travel planning?
A recent joint survey conducted by GoBear, a metasearch engine for insurance and banking products, and KAYAK polled 1,090 people aged from 18 to 45 and above across Singapore and Hong Kong, revealing the attitudes and behaviours we have towards travel products and travel insurance.
Here are the juicy bits:
42% of respondents said they head to search and comparison sites as their first step of travel planning, looking for the convenience, speed and price transparency these sites offer. The average traveller tended to compare 4 websites or companies before making a purchase, but 18% of the respondents compared over 6, including 2% who looked at as many as 11 sites.
More than half the respondents gave safety and security as their number one consideration when planning a trip, while price was the most important consideration when choosing an airline to fly with.
Given this anxiety over security concerns, it’s at least slightly surprising that awareness on the importance of travel insurance remains low. Just 54% of the respondents said they would be willing to spend 5% of their travel costs on insurance. This finding is similar to a recent survey conducted by the Singapore Tourism Board, which led to a campaign in February to persuade the public to purchase travel insurance for their holidays.
The survey also showed distinct differences between travellers from Singapore and Hong Kong, with the latter in search of attractions unique to the destination while Singaporeans are more concerned about safety when planning a trip.
Flight delays were cited by both Singaporeans and Hong Kongers as the most frustrating situation. However, both nationalities differed on other upsetting situations when travelling– Hong Kongers rated loss of baggage and theft, while Singaporeans chose “too many tourists” as their second grievance.
However, it’s not all so different between us all – and it’s no surprise that food is a shared love between both Singaporeans and Hong Kongers when we travel. Respondents from both cities said they, often go in search of local foods to whet their palates.
If you’re looking to make a trip, why not take a look at flights? Hong Kong is a good place to start, or if you want to surprise yourself, try KAYAK Explore!
