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agoda reveals booking trends across Asia-Pacific: Which nation is 'quickest off the blocks' when booking travel?

agoda.com
2017-07-19 14:00 3975

SINGAPORE, July 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- World-leading accommodation site, agoda, today announced its findings around holiday booking trends, following analysis of 20 countries. Which nationalities like to stay close to home and which venture further afield? Who tends to book at the last minute, and who are the most serious forward planners, securing overall better prices and a wider accommodation choice?

More choice, better price when you book in advance
More choice, better price when you book in advance

From the millions of bookings made on the agoda site in 2016, there are some clear distinctions from market to market in terms of booking habits.  Hong Kongers are, for the second year running, the most organised and book the longest in advance -- an average of seven weeks (or 49.4 days) -- prior to travel.  Taking second place are the Russians who have moved up two places from fourth position in 2015, with a booking lead-time of 46 days.

TOP 5 FORWARD PLANNERS

Hong Kong

49.4

Russia

46.4

Australia

44.3

Taiwan

43.3

United Kingdom

37.2

At the other end of the scale, the five nations that book with the least notice are made up primarily of Asian markets -- Malaysia, India, Vietnam and Indonesia booking with a booking lead time of between 24 and 18 days.  In last position are Saudi Arabians, booking on average, just over 2 weeks (or 16.9 days) in advance of travel, making their trips more expensive overall. 

BOTTOM 5 FORWARD PLANNERS

Malaysia

24.4

India

21.7

Vietnam

18.7

Indonesia

18.0

Saudi Arabia

16.9

Andy Edwards, Global Director Brand and Communications adds: "Our research demonstrates that across the globe, the trend is shifting to more advanced booking, with an average global increase of two days lead-time in booking compared to the previous year. This is somewhat surprising, given that we are portrayed as living in an age of 'instant gratification'.  

"Price and choice play a driving factor when booking travel -- the longer you book in advance, the better the choice and the lower the cost.  Popular culture portrays this image of the adventurous, last minute traveller, but in reality consumers are investing more time preparing for their holiday to get the most out of their well-deserved break."

Overseas versus domestic travel trends

When it comes to booking accommodation overseas, versus domestic travel, Singapore and Hong Kong take the unrivalled joint lead due to country size, with nearly all bookings (99%) being outbound. The UK takes third place, with 38% of hotel bookings outbound, and 62% booked domestically.

Surprisingly, in the US, just 8% of all hotel bookings support international travel, with 92% supporting domestic travel.  In China, some 98% of the nation's bookings are placed domestically -- demonstrating the massive potential of outbound travel in both these highly populated, powerhouse markets.

The study compared hotel bookings made by agoda travellers from 2015 to 2016.

About agoda.com

agoda, part of Nasdaq-listed Priceline Group (Nasdaq:PCLN), is one of the world's fastest-growing online accommodation booking platforms. Established in 2005 as a start-up, agoda expanded quickly in Asia and was soon acquired in 2007 by the world's largest seller of rooms online -- the Priceline Group. agoda offers over a million accommodation options around the globe with service and support in over 40 languages. Operations are based in Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Budapest, and an additional presence can be found in major cities across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20170718/1901254-1

Source: agoda.com
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