Japan, Taiwan and China are Named Top Travel Destinations for Hong Kongers in Visa Global Travel Intentions Survey

Japan, Taiwan and Mainland China have been voted the top travel destinations for business and leisure travelers in Hong Kong, according to the Visa Global Travel Intentions Survey.

Half of all respondents from Hong Kong said they are likely to visit Japan for leisure in the next two years. Just over one third of respondents said they intended to visit Taiwan (36 percent), closely followed by Mainland China (32 percent). Japan also performed well in the global survey which included 11,620 respondents from 23 countries and territories. One in five (20 percent) global respondents surveyed said they are likely to travel to the United States for leisure in the next two years, followed by The United Kingdom with 19 percent and Japan in third place with 16 percent. Japan was also the number one travel destination for respondents in Taiwan (57 percent) and was the number two destination for Mainland Chinese respondents (33 percent) behind Australia (36 percent).

Ross Jackson, Head of Cross-Border Business, Asia Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa at Visa, said: “While Japan has always been a firm favorite among travelers from Hong Kong and Greater China as has been noted in both this year's and our previous surveys, we re-ran the survey in Mainland China in August this year to assess how much the March tsunami affected traveler sentiments. The survey, very encouragingly, found that Mainland Chinese respondents still rank Japan among their top destinations[2]. This is in line with Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Destination Trends[3] that international arrivals to Japan have picked up slightly post-tsunami. Our survey findings present great news hinting at a strong recovery and boost for the afflicted Japanese economy,” said Jackson.

The results also show the strong interdependency of Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan and Macau as source markets for business and leisure travelers. Hong Kong travelers had made on average 4.4 trips to Mainland China over the past two years, 2.4 trips to Macau, and 1.6 trips to Taiwan. Mainland Chinese visitors made 2.3 trips to Hong Kong, while Taiwanese travelers visited Hong Kong 1.5 times. The number one reason for repeat visits to Hong Kong from both groups was great shopping. Other important source markets for Hong Kong are Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, each of which ranked Hong Kong as their third most likely travel destination over the next two years.

The research shows that the average spend for the last international trip taken by Hong Kong respondents was HK$9,242 (US$1,188), rising to an expected average of HK$10,121 (US$1,301) when traveling for the forthcoming two years. This is below the global average of US$1,895 for anticipated future trips. Results from the survey also reveal that the highest spenders were respondents from Australia who spent an average of US$3,636 in their last trip. Respondents from Saudi Arabia were the next highest spenders who spent an average of US$3,129 on their last trip.  Projected spending in the next two years also demonstrates that respondents from Australia again look to be the highest spenders, with a projected average travel budget of US$3,582. 

Food is a key hook for Hong Kong travelers who ranked food choices the number one reason for visiting top destinations - Mainland China, Macau and Taiwan - in holidays over the past two years. Looking forward, however, the survey found that food options ranked second behind political stability as the most important factor influencing choice of destination, followed by natural scenery in third position.

Hong Kong travelers plan to take on average six international trips over the next two years, the same as in 2010. Respondents indicated they intend to spend an average of seven nights on their next vacation. This compares to the global average of four international trips in the next two years with an average stay of 10 nights.