United Kingdom Market Insights This Publication ‘STB Market Insights’ Serves As a Reference to the Trends of Specific Inbound Tourism Markets to Singapore
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STB United Kingdom Market Insights This publication ‘STB Market Insights’ serves as a reference to the trends of specific inbound tourism markets to Singapore. All information in this publication is deemed to be correct at time of publication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the data in this report, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) shall not be liable for any loss or damage caused by or arising from the use of the data in this publication. Data derived from surveys cited is subject to sampling error. Users are advised to exercise discretion when drawing any conclusion or inferences, or taking any action, based on the data. STB makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in this document. Appropriate professional advice should be obtained before relying on or acting on any of the information contained in this document, and neither STB nor any of its officers, employees or agents shall be held liable for any loss or damage, whether direct or indirect, as a result of any improper or incorrect use of the information in this document. Consumer Research & Insights Research Division [email protected] ©2015 Singapore Tourism Board. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of STB, or as otherwise permitted herein. Contents of this report may be reproduced accurately in part in other publications if STB is acknowledged and attributed as copyright owner. Month of Publication: April 2015 2 STB Market Insights – United Kingdom Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... 4 About The Market ....................................................................................................................................... 5 The United Kingdom Traveller ................................................................................................................ 6 Media Consumption Habits ..................................................................................................................... 7 United Kingdom Visitor to Singapore ......................................................................................................... 8 The UK Leisure Traveller ........................................................................................................................... 10 Needs of the UK Leisure Traveller ......................................................................................................... 10 Considerations for Travel ....................................................................................................................... 11 Planning and Booking Trends ................................................................................................................ 12 Information Sources Before/During Travel ............................................................................................ 13 Advocacy ............................................................................................................................................... 13 UK Leisure Visitor in Singapore ................................................................................................................. 14 Reasons for visiting Singapore ............................................................................................................... 13 Leisure Activities in Singapore ............................................................................................................... 14 Barriers to Visiting Singapore ................................................................................................................ 15 UK BTMICE Visitors in Singapore ............................................................... 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Bookmark not defined.16 The UK BTMICE Visitor ......................................................................................................................... 16 Perception of Singapore as a Business and Leisure Destination ................................................................ 16 Information Sources ............................................................................................................................ 17 UK BTMICE Visitors’ Leisure Activities ................................................................................................. 17 Key Findings ............................................................................................................................................. 18 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 21 3 STB Market Insights – United Kingdom Executive Summary United Kingdom (UK) ranked 12th in terms of visitor arrivals (VA) and 11th in terms of tourism receipts (TR) to Singapore in 2013. For the first time since the economic crisis in 2009, there were encouraging signs of recovery, with growth in VA, TR and per capita expenditure (PCE) observed in 2013. Travelling formed a significant part of the lives of UK travellers. Travelling not only allowed them to recharge and escape from their daily routine, but also to discover new experiences. The process of learning about other countries’ culture allowed them to better understand their own culture and to feel more connected to the world. While they tend to look for immersive experiences at destinations, hygiene factors such as accessibility, convenience and safety still remained baseline expectations that should not be compromised. Singapore is a destination that UK visitors perceived to be safe, easy to travel around, and a good hub to explore other nearby destinations. Although many UK travellers held a high regard for Singapore as a business destination, Singapore was often seen to be too sterile and manicured for a leisure holiday. Being a modern city, Singapore was perceived to be too similar to their home country and less appealing than neighbouring destinations such as Thailand and Myanmar, which offered more authentic local cultures. Therefore, the challenge would be to effectively communicate compelling and differentiated leisure experiences that Singapore has to offer to UK visitors. Singapore’s distinctive local way-of-life and harmonious mix of various cultures would be appealing to UK visitors who are interested in discovering new experiences not available back home and gleaning a deeper side of the destinations. Methodology of STB Primary Research Sources Figures from this report are gathered from STB internal research as well as publicly available sources. The STB’s research sources are STB’s Overseas Visitors Survey (OVS), the Leisure Segmentation Study (SEG), Business Traveller Study (BTS), Brand Health Tracking Study (BHTS) as well as various interviews and focus groups done. Overseas Visitors Survey (OVS) – conducted annually at exit points in Singapore, the OVS covers visitors from every nationality. The sample size is usually around 28,000 per year. Leisure Segmentation Study (SEG) – conducted in 2013 in 4 key markets, SEG sought to understand the needs of different segments of frequent air travellers within our key markets of United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, and Hong Kong. The sample size was 600 per market, for a total of 2,400. Business Traveller Study (BTS) – conducted over 2011-2012 in Singapore, BTS covers over 2,000 business travellers from our key business source markets to understand their pre-trip and during trip considerations, behaviour and touch points. Markets covered include Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, UK, US and Vietnam. Brand Health Tracking Study (BHTS) - conducted in 2013 across 10 key markets, BHTS sought to understand the perception of Singapore as a leisure travel destination within our key markets of Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, United Kingdom and Vietnam. The sample size was 1,200 per market, for a total of 12,000. Leisure Traveller Study (FGD) – conducted in November 2012 in London to gain deeper understanding of UK travellers, including their travel motivations and habits, as well as attitude and perception towards Singapore. 4 STB Market Insights – United Kingdom About The Market Population (million) (1) 64.1 (2013) 1. South East: 8.79 2. London: 8.42 Region – Population (million) (1) 3. East: 5.96 4. West Midlands: 5.67 5. South West: 5.38 2010: 55.6 2011: 56.8 Outbound Travel (million) (2) 2012: 56.5 2013: 58.5 1. Spain: 11.74 Top 5 Outbound Travel 2. France: 8.85 Destinations in 2013 (million) (2) 3. USA: 3.05 4. Irish Republic: 2.85 5. Italy: 2.83 1. India: 842 Top 5 Travel Destinations 2. Thailand: 765 3. China: 654 (2) in Asia in 2013 (‘000) 4. Singapore 461 5. Hong Kong: 324 Holiday: 64% Type of outbound Trips (2) Visit Friends & Relatives: 21% Business: 12% Seasonality of Outbound Trips (2) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 5 STB Market Insights – United Kingdom The United Kingdom (UK) Traveller With the sixth largest economy globally, UK was one of the wealthiest countries in the world. A relatively high income per capita, coupled with its strong currency, translated into a historically strong propensity for international