TripAdvisor™, the world’s largest travel site, has announced the results of the world’s largest accommodation and traveller survey – the TripBarometer by TripAdvisor. This study, conducted on behalf of TripAdvisor by independent research firm StrategyOne, a division of Edelman Berland, will be biannual and reports on top travel and hospitality industry trends according to more than 35,000 travellers and hoteliers around the world.
The results of the TripBarometer revealed insights into the booking behavior of Thai travellers as well as the importance of online reviews and social media when it comes to planning a trip and even during a trip.
Thai Travellers in Profile
According to the TripBarometer, four in five (83%) of Thai travellers are planning to increase their travel budget in 2013. Only 6 per cent are planning to spend less with 11 per cent spending the same as last year.
When it comes to booking of accommodation, the top 5 factors that influenced them are price, location, attractions or nearby activities, accommodation amenities and online review.
| Top 5 Factors that influenced accommodation booking | Per cent of respondents (THAILAND) | Per cent of respondents (GLOBAL)
|
| Price | 72% | 76% |
| Location | 58% | 68% |
| Attractions or nearby activities | 50% | 35% |
| Accommodation amenities | 45% | 34% |
| Online reviews | 30% | 44% |
When asked how many properties they would consider before making a booking, 72 per cent of Thai travellers said they would consider 1 to 5 properties, 21 per cent said they would consider 6 to 10 properties and 3 per cent said they would consider 11 to 15 properties.
Planning a trip has gone digital
The TripBarometer also revealed that more than nine out of ten Thai travellers (94%) are turning to the Internet to plan their travel. The top source of information amongst Thai travellers when planning their trip is travel review websites, followed by travel operator websites and friends and family.
| Top 3 Sources of Information | Per cent of respondents (THAILAND) | Per cent of respondents (GLOBAL)
|
| Travel Review Websites | 68% | 69% |
| Travel Operator Websites | 66% | 56% |
| Friends and Family | 55% | 43% |
Thai travellers also ranked highest globally (58%) for being highly influenced by other travellers’ reviews and opinions in travel review websites.
Travellers are online and on social networks even during a holiday
Thai travellers are online and going on social networks even during a trip. They are some of the biggest users globally of social media (52%) when researching and planning their trips, with the most popular being Facebook.
| Top 3 social media platforms used to plan last trip | Per cent of respondents (THAILAND) | Per cent of respondents (GLOBAL)
|
| 88% | 76% | |
| Google+ | 58% | 40% |
| 22% | 21% |
During a trip, the top uses of technology for Thai travellers were “uploaded holiday photos to a social network”, “accessed the Internet through a mobile phone” and “using a mobile app to find attractions or activities”.
| Top 3 uses of technology during a trip | Per cent of respondents (THAILAND) | Per cent of respondents (GLOBAL)
|
| Uploaded holiday photos to a social network | 67% | 39% |
| Accessed the Internet through a mobile phone | 62% | 51% |
| Used a mobile app to find attractions or activities | 53% | 33% |
“In an ever connected world, it is clear that Thai travellers are turning to the Internet for all their travel needs,” said Cindy Tan, Vice President, Asia Pacific at TripAdvisor. “From researching their trips to getting advice and recommendations on where to go and to keeping in contact with friends and loved ones during the trip, the internet is proving to be a trusted and useful ally.”
For the full TripBarometer report, infographic and Thailand specific findings, please go to tripadvisorTripBarometer.com/Thailand.
¹ Methodology: The TripBarometer by TripAdvisor is based upon an online survey conducted in Dec. 2012 – Jan. 2013, by StrategyOne, a division of Edelman Berland, a global research and insights firm. A total of 35,042 people participated in the online survey from 26 countries spanning 7 regions. The sample is made up of 15,595 consumers and 19,447 businesses, making it the world’s largest combined accommodation and traveler survey. 510 travellers in Thailand participated in the survey.
About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor® is the world’s largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 200 million unique monthly visitors**, and over 100 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.
TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 19 other travel media brands
*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, January 2013
**Source: Google Analytics, worldwide data, January 2013
©2013 TripAdvisor, Inc. All rights reserved.
SOURCE TripAdvisor
For more information, please contact:
| GHC Asia Ltd. Chutinun Guna-Tilaka T +66 2357 1183 Chutinun.guna-tilaka@ghcasia.com | TripAdvisor APAC Jean Ow-Yeong T +65 6643 1241 jow-yeong@tripadvisor.com |
