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THE YEAR-end holidays are over, but a Family Travel Trend 2022 survey by digital travel platform Agoda reveals that four out of five travelers will be traveling with their main family in the next 12 months. While traveling with friends proved to be more desirable than traveling with a large family. More than half (52%) plan a vacation to see their relatives.
Travelers from Indonesia (40%), Philippines (47%) and Malaysia (35%) are most likely to plan two or more family vacations in the coming year. Meanwhile tourists from Singapore (61%), Taiwan (61%), and Vietnam (59%) are most likely to make at least one trip with their main family.
For vacations with extended families, tourists from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam occupy the top three positions. As for the people of Japan, Korea, and Singapore tend not to be interested in vacationing with extended family.
“The busier, the merrier appears to be the message across Southeast Asia, India and beyond this year as Asia finally reopens for travel. The Agoda Family Travel survey shows that people really want to enjoy the company of friends or extended family on vacations those with more than 80% of travelers planning to travel with their immediate family and 52% choosing to travel with other relatives as well,” said Enric Casals, Regional Vice President for Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, Agoda.
Australians are known for their love of their mates, aka friends, but that doesn’t mean they are interested in vacationing with friends, because Australian tourists only rank 9th in traveling with friends this year. Shifted from the top position by tourists from the Philippines, followed by tourists from Vietnam and India.
When it comes to traveling as a family or in groups, travelers around the world are looking for more value for their trips with budget hotels, Agoda Homes vacation rentals and Inclusive Resorts being named as the top three preferences in group travel.
“Family travelers generally have more complex needs when choosing holiday accommodation. Often they require more space, perhaps with cooking facilities such as those offered by Agoda Homes, or services such as child care, kids’ clubs, extra beds or interconnecting rooms that are offered by family-friendly hotels,” he said.
Enric Casals added, being able to search on a platform like Agoda for accommodation, flights, ground transportation, exciting activities at the destination can reduce the complexity of planning a trip. This means more time to relax and enjoy time with loved ones.
Indonesians (42%), Malaysians (39%) and Taiwanese (38%) prefer vacation rentals that offer additional amenities such as a kitchen or living area and separate beds. Meanwhile, the Philippines (59%), India (44%), and South Korea (38%) show a high preference for budget hotels.
This is in contrast to Japanese tourists, who almost half (43%) choose chain hotels as their preferred accommodation and 34% of Thai tourists who prefer comfortable resorts that provide all facilities (all-inclusive resorts).
Despite travel optimism and growth surpassing pre-COVID levels, 77% of travelers globally are concerned about border closures while they are abroad. Travelers from newly opened countries including South Korea and Japan were the most worried, compared to the United States (US), Australia and India, which quickly lifted border rules. [sources/photo special]
