A traveller walks to his flight at an airport. REUTERS file photo/Jason Reed
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian travellers are most influenced by word of mouth from friends, family and colleagues as well as traveller reviews when planning trips, according to information gleaned from a newly-released report.
Launched by Amadeus, the report titled ‘Journey of Me Insights: What Malaysian Travellers Want’ showed that 51 per cent of the Malaysian respondents appreciated recommendations that helped them save money while time-saving tips were less popular (12 per cent).
For Amadeus Malaysia general manager Miro Blazevic, one of the observations that stood out to him in the Malaysia report was how important cost-saving was to travellers from this country.
In a statement, he noted that indeed, the number of Malaysians travelling overseas fell last year as a result of a weakened ringgit.
“But this can be an opportunity to travel players if, for example, they can help build more rewarding journeys for their travellers that also save them money,” he said.
The ‘Journey of Me Insights’, an Asia Pacific traveller study spanning 14 markets including Malaysia, was aimed at moving the industry towards a closer understanding of travellers in the region.
Besides Malaysia, it covered Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
It was conducted in collaboration with YouGov with a total sample size of 6,870 adults across Asia Pacific who had travelled internationally in the last 12 months. Fieldwork was done between May 8 and 17 this year. The survey was carried out online.
Headquartered in Europe with operations in over 190 markets, Amadeus touts itself as the leading provider of IT solutions to the global tourism and travel industry. – Bernama