STB South Korea 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 the 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. 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Month of Publication: November 2015 2 STB Market Insights – South Korea Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... 4 About The Market ....................................................................................................................................... 5 The South Korean Traveller .................................................................................................................... 6 Overall Media Landscape …………………………….………………………………………………..……………………..… 7 Digital Media Environment and Consumption Habits .............................................................................. 7 South Korean Visitors to Singapore ........................................................................................................... 10 The South Korean Leisure Traveller........................................................................................................... 10 Needs of the South Korean Leisure Traveller ......................................................................................... 10 Considerations for Travel ....................................................................................................................... 11 Planning and Booking Trends ................................................................................................................ 11 Information Sources Before/During Travel ............................................................................................ 12 Advocacy ............................................................................................................................................... 12 South Korean Leisure Visitors in Singapore ............................................................................................... 12 Leisure Activities in Singapore ............................................................................................................... 13 Barriers to Visiting Singapore ................................................................................................................ 13 South Korean BTMICE Visitors in Singapore.............................................................................................. 14 The South Korean BTMICE Visitor ........................................................................................................ 14 Information Sources ............................................................................................................................ 14 South Korean BTMICE Visitors’ Leisure Activities ................................................................................. 14 Key Findings and Implications ................................................................................................................... 15 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 17 3 STB Market Insights – South Korea Executive Summary Over the past few years, the outbound market for South Korea has grown significantly, registering a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.2% from 2011 to 2014 (1). Singapore has benefited from this strong demand for outbound travel, as Visitor Arrivals (VA) from South Korea to Singapore saw a comparable 9.0% CAGR over the same period. This has propelled the South Korean market from 12th to 9th position in terms of VA to Singapore. South Koreans tend to be experienced travellers who avoid the inflexibility of packaged tours. Rather, they prefer to make their own travel plans and arrangements. They mostly take short trips to minimise imposing on their co-workers who cover their duties while they are away. As most South Koreans work long hours, they often view travel as a means of relaxing. Hence, ease takes top priority when it comes to their travels. They want a simple and fuss-free experience from the time they start researching on their trip to the point where they are finding their way around their destination of choice. While generally comfortable with English, South Koreans still prefer consuming information in their native language. In 2014, 1 in 3 arrivals from South Korea visited Singapore for business purposes. Of these business travellers, less than 1 in 10 were willing to extend their trip for leisure. Of those who visited Singapore for BTMICE, 39% were “very likely” or “likely” to revisit Singapore in the next 1 to 2 years for leisure — the foremost reason for this being that they have always wanted to visit Singapore for a vacation. When shopping, BTMICE travellers will almost feel obligated to buy something for their colleagues, to thank them for covering their duties while they were away. Therefore, they would look out for gifts that are either premium or unique to the destination. Methodology of STB Primary Research Sources Figures from this report were gathered from STB’s internal research and 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. 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 the United Kingdom, Germany, Hong Kong and South Korea. 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, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, the UK, US and Vietnam. Leisure Traveller Study (FGD) – conducted in October 2014 in South Korea to gain a deeper understanding of South Korean travellers, including their travel motivations and habits, as well as attitude towards and perception of Singapore. Visitor Experience Study (VES) – conducted annually in Singapore since 2014, covering Leisure and BTMICE visitors from 14 top source markets to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences they consume here and post-arrival satisfaction with their Singapore experiences. 4 STB Market Insights – South Korea About The Market Population (million) (2) 51.4 (May 2015) 2011: 12.7 Total Outbound Travel 2012: 13.7 (million) (3) 2013: 15.0 2014: 15.5 1. China 2. Japan Top 5 Travel Destinations 3. USA in 2013 (‘000) (4) 4. Thailand 5. Philippines Leisure: 57% Business: 25% Type of Outbound Trips (5) Education: 12% Others: 7% Seasonality of All Outbound Trips (000’000) (1) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Sss 5 STB Market Insights – South Korea The South Korean Traveller The South Korean economy has rebounded strongly since the 2008-2009 global economic downturn. In 2014, South Korea saw GDP growth of 8% year-on-year (based on US$), and since 2011, grew at a CAGR of 6.5% (6). This, in turn, has driven up the disposable income of South Koreans, along with their appetite for international travel. As a result, the number of South Koreans travelling overseas has been growing at a rate of at least 8% annually since 2011 (1). With 15.5 million outbound travellers in 2014, South Korea recorded the third largest outbound market in Asia Pacific, lagging only behind China (40 million) and Japan (17.3 million) (3). In line with their highly frequent travels and preference for researching travel information online, South Koreans, especially