SINGAPORE’S Sentosa island is South-east Asia’s priciest island for an overnight holiday, found a recent cost comparison study.

TripAdvisor’s TripIndex Island Sun 2013 totalled the costs for two people for a one-night stay in a four-star hotel, a two-course meal, beers, massage as well as rental of bicycles and snorkel equipment as a benchmark of comparison across markets in the region. Prices are accurate for the period September 16 to October 3, 2013.

According to findings, such a holiday on Sentosa will set the traveller back by 26,815.2 baht (US$856). While hotel rates make up the lion’s share of the TripIndex basket items, bicycle and snorkel equipment rental are the most disparate between markets.

Bicycle rental in Singapore costs 3,657.7 baht or 18 times more than in Koh Phangan, Thailand, where rentals are 200 baht. Snorkel equipment rental is not available in Singapore, but the rental of two kayaks is 4,108.6 baht or 34 times more expensive than on Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand, where snorkel equipment rental is 120 baht.

On the whole, Thailand was found to be the most value-for-money holiday destination with five islands falling within the list of top 10 most affordable islands. Koh Phangan tops the list with a holiday costing a mere 7,322.50 baht, followed by Koh Tao in second place (7,766.9 baht), Ko Chang in fourth (8,737.4 baht), Koh Lanta at eighth (9,961.8 baht) and Koh Samui at ninth (10,082.5 baht).

While Sentosa has claimed the honour of most expensive island in the region, four Malaysian islands are among the top 10 most expensive island destinations in South-east Asia. Langkawi is the second priciest after Sentosa with holidays costing (17,447.1 baht), Pulau Tioman is fourth (14,886.3 baht), Pulau Redang is fifth (14,712.3 baht) and Penang is sixth (14,293.9 baht).

However, the least expensive average hotel was found in Malaysia’s Penang, charging 3,947.4 baht. On the other hand, the most costly rooms were found in Palawan, the Philippines with rates nearly thrice the cost at 10,649.4 baht.

THAILAND retains its heavyweight status as a top holiday destination in Asia, with three cities featured on TripAdvisor’s list of Top 20 Most Popular Outbound Destinations for Chinese Travellers.

Phuket, Bangkok and Chiang Mai were ranked second, fourth and 12^th respectively based on unique visitor numbers to its customised site for the Chinese market, daodao.com, during July and August.

The Thai trio also garnered strong year-on-year growth in the number of searches performed on the site. Interest in Phuket grew by 250 per cent, Bangkok by 270 per cent and Chiang Mai by 180 per cent.

Lily Cheng, managing director, TripAdvisor China, said: “While Hong Kong and Macau continue to draw tens of millions of mainland tourists a year…we are definitely seeing a shift in the market and mainland travellers have started to look farther afield to destinations like Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and beyond.”

“This new generation of Chinese outbound travellers is making their own decisions about where to go, where to stay and what to do by doing their own research online, going beyond the old stereotype of big buses of group tourists. These travellers are savvy, sophisticated and do make an effort to understand and respect the local culture by doing a lot of online research before their trip.”

Rounding up, the top 20 are:

1. Hong Kong, 50 per cent
2. Phuket, 250 per cent
3. Taiwan, 350 per cent
4. Bangkok, 270 per cent
5. Paris, 360 per cent
6. Dubai, 210 per cent
7. Macau, 50 per cent
8. Seoul, 180 per cent
9. Singapore, 170 per cent
10. Bali, 310 per cent
11. Rome, 180 per cent
12. Chiang Mai, 180 per cent
13. New York, 280 per cent
14. London, 120 per cent
15. Jeju Island, 570 per cent
16. Boracay, 360 per cent
17. Kyoto, 580 per cent
18. Kota Kinabalu, 550 per cent
19. Hanoi, 510 per cent
20. Kuala Lumpur, 190 per cent

Destinations that showed the highest growth in search numbers were Kyoto, Kota Kinabalu, Hanoi and Jeju Island. But outside of the top 20, destinations with more than four times year-on-year growth were Siem Reap, Pattaya, Sabah and Berlin.

YOU can take the Singaporean out of Singapore, but not the gastronomic adventurer out of the Singaporean.

In a study of Singaporeans’ travel habits by Changi Airport Group, denizens of the Lion City ranked good food (61 per cent) as the hallmark of an ideal vacation destination, followed by the number of shopping malls (50 per cent) and historical relics (47 per cent).

Trying the local food was far and away the number one must-do activity when on holiday, scoring 93 per cent of votes, while visiting tourist attractions and buying souvenirs for colleagues and friends ranked 68 and 55 per cent respectively.

Singaporeans even love airplane food. When asked what were the top three things they looked forward to on a flight, food obtained 65 per cent agreement. This makes food second only to movies/inflight entertainment (73 per cent) and beats out sleep (65 per cent).

When it comes to choosing a flight though, prices were the biggest influencing factor, trailed by flight timings and airline presences.

Unsurprisingly, more than 50 per cent of respondents mentioned a gadget as their most important item on a trip, with 20 per cent naming mobile phones as their must-have.

Eleven per cent felt obtaining a sim-card was more important than grabbing food and water upon arrival (three per cent).

Meanwhile, Singaporeans’ top travel concerns include jet lag (46 per cent), inability to fall asleep in hotel (38 per cent), being easily tired out (35 per cent), and having constipation (31 per cent).

ABU Dhabi’s hotels and apartments welcomed more guests in the first seven months of this year compared to any other period, according to figures recently released by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).

Compared with the same period last year, from January to July, guest arrivals increased 10 per cent to 1.5 million. They generated almost 4.8 million guest nights, up 23 per cent, with guests staying an average of 3.2 nights, a rise of 12 per cent, and driving occupancy up by seven per cent to 68 per cent.

Year-to-date hotel revenues rose 16 per cent to almost three billion dirhams (US$81.5 million), with F&B accounting for 1.2 billion dirhams.

TCA Abu Dhabi director general, Mubarak Al Muhairi, said: “These results make encouraging reading when viewed against the fact that hotel inventory in the emirate has grown from 137 properties and 23,613 rooms in 2012 to 146 offering 25,300 rooms this year.

“With a final quarter ahead of us which is packed with major events, including the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi Art, the Seatrade Middle East Forum and the Al Ain Aerobatic Show, the best results of the year have yet to come.”

India sent the most arrivals (92,529, up 21 per cent over 2012), followed by the UK (86,284, up eight per cent) and Germany (67,968, up 25 per cent).

Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry is also developing tailored products and attractions to cater to the lucrative Chinese market, which delivered 23,618 hotel guests in the first seven months, up 36 per cent year-on-year.

TCA Abu Dhabi director of strategy & policy, Mohammed Al Dhaheri, said: “Local stakeholders are developing specific packages catering for peak Chinese travel times, such as the Golden Week and Chinese New Year, and are increasingly employing Mandarin and Cantonese speaking staff to take advantage of opportunities afforded by the growing air links from China.

“Chinese visitors are staying with us longer and in greater numbers, largely because there’s now much more to see and do with Yas Waterworld, public beaches on Yas and Saadiyat islands and a flurry of new hotels and resorts which have come online.

“Our shopping offering has expanded, with The Galleria at Sowwah Square on Al Maryah Island bringing a new luxury precinct to the emirate’s financial district.

TRAVELLERS have bestowed upon Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport the unflattering title of the worst airport in Asia, revealed a recent survey.

Online hotel reservations company Agoda polled travellers to 15 major Asian capitals, asking them to rate the facility on a scale of one (poor) to five (excellent).

Cities chosen for the survey were: Bangkok, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, New Delhi, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, Vientiane and Yangon.

According to the survey, Manila’s international airport garnered a paltry 2.4 and was the only airport to fall below the “passing score” of 2.5. This put Manila’s airport below Vientiane’s (2.7), Yangon’s (2.8) and Phnom Penh’s (2.9).

On the other end of the scale, Singapore Changi Airport unsurprisingly came out tops with a 4.3 rating. The airport, which features in the top three of nearly every airport-ranking list in the world, handled some 51 million passengers in 2012.

Hong Kong International Airport came in at second place with 4.1, followed by Seoul’s Incheon International Airport with 4.0 and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport also with 4.0.

The full list of airports and rankings can be seen below.

Airport rankings in Asia’s capital cities:

1. Singapore Changi Airport, (4.37)
2. Hong Kong International Airport (4.13)
3. Incheon International Airport, Seoul (4.01)
4. Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi (4.00)
5. Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok (3.79)
6. Narita International Airport, Tokyo (3.69)
7. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (3.56)
8. Beijing Capital International Airport (3.48)
9. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (3.38)
10. Phnom Penh International Airport (3.14)
11. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta (2.95)
12. Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City (2.91)
13. Yangon International Airport (2.81)
14. Vientiane – Wattay Airport (2.74)
15. Manila International Airport (2.36)

OVERNIGHT visitor arrivals to Hong Kong shot up 8.7 per cent year-on-year between January and June this year, while the territory welcomed a total of 25.4 million visitors for the same period, up 13.6 per cent over 2012.

In 1H2013, overnight visitors to Hong Kong numbered 12 million or 47.1 per cent of total arrivals, according to HKTB statistics. Unsurprisingly, mainland Chinese tourists who stayed overnight numbered 7.8 million, boasting a 16.2 per cent year-on-year increase.

Taiwanese overnight arrivals rose 4.1 per cent, likely due to the free, pre-arrival online registration service for Taiwanese residents, said a HKTB statement. Visitors from Thailand also rose 15 per cent (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 5, 2013).

However, shorthaul arrivals to the territory fell 4.2 per cent as travellers were drawn to Japan as the value of the yen declined. Japanese overnight arrivals tumbled some 29.1 per cent.

Longhaul markets continued to suffer the impact of global economic uncertainties and dropped 4.1 per cent for overnight arrivals.

New markets – listed as India, Gulf Co-operation Council countries, Russia, The Netherlands and Vietnam by HKTB – posted 7.2 per cent year-on-year growth collectively. Russian arrivals saw the strongest growth, jumping 24.6 per cent in overnight arrivals and 26.3 per cent for overall arrivals.

CITIZENS of the Lion City are now travelling farther and wider across the globe, as well as spending more on their vacations, according to data from a Singapore-based OTA.

ZUJI Singapore statistics indicate that Singaporeans are spending five per cent more on flight and hotel options this year.

The OTA has also noted a 20 per cent and 15 per cent year-on-year surge in visitors going to Europe, and Australia and New Zealand respectively.

A similar trend was observed for travel within the Asia-Pacific region, with Seoul receiving 50 per cent more Singaporeans and the number of travellers to Hokkaido tripling year-on-year.

For beach holidays, the Maldives is a rising destination for not just couples but also friends and family vacations. ZUJI Singapore reported a tripling in bookings to Malé compared to the same period last year.

ZUJI Singapore CEO, Chua Hui Wan, commented: “Singaporeans’ travel consumption patterns are shifting beyond short-haul and common destinations.

“They are increasingly travel-savvy, adventurous and willing to spend on varied travel options venturing into new destinations. They are expanding their travel borders to include new and exciting regional and international locations such as Vietnam, the Maldives, Rome and Canada.”

TRAVEL prices will increase moderately in 2014 in tandem with the limited economic growth expected across the globe, but airfares in Singapore are expected to witness some of the biggest jumps in airfare prices within Asia-Pacific.

According to Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s (CWT) 2014 Travel Price Forecast, airfares in Singapore may surge by as much as 5.1 per cent. On the other hand, fewer business meetings and events in Singapore are likely to keep the Lion City’s hotel rates flat, with growth between 0.9 and 3.7 per cent.

Airlines will continue to align themselves through codeshare agreements, alliances or mergers even as more LCCs come on stream next year. For the overall Asia-Pacific region, CWT’s report predicts that airfares would soar by four per cent with prices varying by country.

Middle-class demand in China is likely to drive demand for leisure travel while business-travel demand remains persistent. These twin engines of growth could fuel a rise in airfares by almost seven per cent next year.

Meanwhile, hotels in key business destinations are expected to operate near capacity in the coming year. CWT projects that hotels in Asia-Pacific’s largest cities, which have enjoyed the highest occupancy rates in the world for several years, will continue to do so in 2014. Prices are predicted to leap by up to 4.9 per cent.

On the MICE front, Asia-Pacific’s burgeoning meetings and events industry is likely to witness growth in group size by three to five per cent, while daily costs per attendee could jump four to five per cent.

This is in line with CWT’s forecast that meetings and events providers will raise prices across the world, leading to across-the-board rises in daily attendee costs.

INTERNATIONAL travel between January and April 2013 rose 4.3 per cent year-on-year, with the Asia-Pacific region boasting the strongest growth.

The number of international tourist arrivals hit 298 million in the first four months of the year, up 12 million from 2012’s 286 million tourists, according to a United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) report.

“International tourism continues to show an extraordinary dynamism,” said UNWTO secretary-general, Taleb Rifai.

“The 4.3 per cent growth in the number of international tourists crossing borders in the first months of 2013 confirms that tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors of our times, contributing in a central manner to the economy of a growing number of countries,” he added.

While all regions registered positive growth, Asia-Pacific led the pack with a six per cent rise in visitor arrivals. Europe and the Middle East followed at five per cent, trailed by Africa (two per cent) and the Americas (one per cent).

Among the world’s sub-regions, South-east Asia took tops for its significant 12 per cent growth. Other star performers included South Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe, both with nine per cent.

The strong performance of South-east Asia and South Asia highlight the trend of emerging economy destinations outgrowing advanced economies as holiday spots in recent years. Worldwide, the number of tourists visiting emerging destinations grew 4.6 per cent, compared to advanced economies, which expanded 3.3 per cent.

Looking ahead to the peak tourism months of May to August, prospects remain positive and some 435 million tourists are expected to travel abroad. Business intelligence tool Forwardkeys has already noted a four per cent increase in international air travel reservations for that period.

For the full year of 2013, international tourist arrivals are expected to increase by between three and four per cent, in line with UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8 per cent per year for the period 2010-2020.

CHINESE hotels suffered a year-on-year decline in occupancy and RevPAR during the first quarter of 2013, as arrivals fell on avian flu fears and a sluggish economy.

According to The HVS Quarterly: Hong Kong, Macau, China and Taiwan Update, China’s international visitor arrivals dropped 0.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2012, with all its top five source markets ­of Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and the US registering negative growth rates.

Among the top 10 hotel markets in China – Sanya, Shanghai, Changsha, Xiamen, Beijing, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu – all posted year-on-year falls in occupancy.

Average room rates increased across the board, except for in Nanjing and Shanghai.

For RevPAR, only Changhsa, Sanya and Shenzhen were able to boast of year-on-year increases of nine per cent, 0.4 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively.

Sanya had the highest RevPAR of the major 30 cities in China, but posted the second highest decrease in average occupancy among the top 10, with a year-on-year decline of 8.2 per cent to occupancy of 70.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, Changsha maintained the top occupancy level out of the top 10 at 81.7 per cent, and also registered the highest rate growth of 11.7 per cent to RMB376 (US$61).

Chengdu was the biggest loser in terms of largest RevPAR decline during the first quarter, falling 8.5 per cent to RMB227.

Within Greater China, the report stated that hotel occupancy for all markets dropped, but Taiwan managed to increase its average rate.

Arrivals-wise, Hong Kong saw more than 12.7 million visitors in the first quarter, reflecting 13.5 per cent year-on-year growth over the previous year. The territory’s share of overnight visitors account for 46.9 per cent of arrivals.

In Macau, arrivals rose 1.9 per cent to 7.1 million, of which overnight visitors were 48.1 per cent.

Taiwan saw a surge of 10.7 per cent to 1.9 million international visitors, said the report.