Family and friend group travel back on the cards Agoda survey shows

• Four out of five will take a family holiday in the next 12 months
• Travelling with a group of friends is more likely than travelling with extended family 
• Families gravitate towards budget accommodation, Agoda Homes style vacation rentals and All inclusive resorts

SINGAPORE, Dec. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With year-end school holidays in full swing, digital travel platform Agoda's Family Travel Trend survey 2022 reveals that four out of five travelers will take a vacation with immediate family in the next 12 months and, while travelling with friends proves more popular than travelling with extended family, still more than half (52%) are keen to catch up with relatives for their vacation.

Travelers from Singapore (61%), Taiwan (61%) and Vietnam (59%) are most likely to take at least one trip with immediate family.  Meanwhile, people from The Philippines (47%), Indonesia (40%) and Malaysia (35%) are most likely to plan two or more family jaunts in the coming year.  When it comes to vacationing with extended family, its travelers from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam that take the top three spots, with those from Japan, Korea and Singapore least likely to take the whole family along for their travels.

"The more the merrier for holidays seems to be the message across South East Asia, India and beyond this year as Asia finally reopens for travel. The Agoda Family Travel Survey shows people really want to enjoy the company of friends or extended family on their vacations with more than 80% of travelers planning to travel with immediate family and 52% opting to travel with other relatives too," explained Enric Casals, Regional Vice President, Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, Agoda. 

Friends reuniting

Australians are renowned for their love of their mates, but it seems it doesn't translate to going on holiday with them, with travelers from Australia ranking only 9^th most likely to take a trip with friends this year, knocked off the top spot by travelers from the Philippines, followed by Vietnamese and Indian travelers. 

2023 Value hunters  

When it comes to travelling with families or in a group travelers worldwide are seeking more value for their trips with Budget Hotels, Agoda Homes vacation rentals and Inclusive Resorts cited as the top three group travel preferences.

"Family travelers often have more complex requirements when choosing their holiday accommodation. Often they need more space, perhaps with cooking facilities as offered by Agoda Homes, or the services such as babysitting, kids clubs, extra beds or interconnecting rooms offered by family-friendly hotels.  Being able to search on one platform, like Agoda, for accommodation, flights, ground transportation and fun filled activities at the destination takes away a lot of the hassle of travel planning, meaning there is more time to relax and enjoy spending time with loved ones," Enric Casals continued.

Travelers from Philippines (59%), India (44%) and South Korea (38%) showed a high preference for budget friendly hotels, while those from Indonesia (42%), Malaysia (39%), and Taiwan (38%) preferred vacation rentals which tend to offer additional facilities such as kitchens or separate living and sleeping areas. This is in contrast to almost half of Japanese travelers (43%) who favored chain hotels as their accommodation of choice and 34% of Thai travelers who leaned towards the convenience of all-inclusive resorts.   

Border closures continue to concern travelers

Despite travel optimism and growth out pacing pre COVID levels, 77% of travelers globally indicate some concern about international borders closing again while they are overseas.  Travelers from most recently opened markets including South Korea and Japan are most concerned, in comparison to those from markets that quickly removed border restrictions including US, Australia and India.

Accommodation Preferences for family and group travel

Companion Trends

Travel companion expectations in the coming 12 months.

METHODOLOGY   
Agoda survey was conducted in partnership with YouGov polling over 10,000 travelers from across Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, USA. This survey was conducted from 8-16 July 2022. All respondents were aged 18 and above.  

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Agoda helps anyone travel anywhere with its great value deals on a global network of 2.9M hotels and holiday properties worldwide, plus flights, airport transfers and more. Agoda.com and the Agoda mobile app are available in 39 languages, and supported by 24/7 customer support.  

Headquartered in Singapore, Agoda is part of Booking Holdings (Nasdaq: BKNG) and employs more than 5,500 staff in 35 markets, dedicated to leveraging best-in-class technology to make travel even easier.   

CONTACT: Kris Schimmel, Kris.schimmel@agoda.com