Hi Huneybees,
It's travel season and if you are one who plan to "nua", consider beach locations. According to the 2016 Expedia® Flip Flop Report (an annual study of the behavior and preferences among beachgoers around the world) released by Expedia.com.sg®, Singapore vacationers are the second biggest international beachgoers!
Expedia’s annual Flip-Flop Report is a usually humorous look at beach behaviors around the world. Are you ready to see Singapore's report?
The 2016 Singapore Flip Flop Report found that Singapore vacationers prefer to travel internationally when it comes to getting their dose of the sun, sand and sea. Report data also revealed that out of all respondents who took a beach vacation during the past 12 months, 96 percent travelled internationally to do so. This number is the second highest globally, with Austrians (98 percent) taking the top spot. In addition, a further 64 percent of us are still on the prowl for our next beach holiday, sealing our status as beach bums.
We Love Our “Me Time” During Vacations
Surprisingly, 82 percent of us prefer to “do nothing” when on a beach vacation, compared with a global average of 74 percent. This could signify that Singapore travelers use beach holidays as an opportunity to wind down from their hectic lives back at home. We are also more likely to go on beach holidays with our family members (73 percent) and use the down-time as a chance to catch-up and bond. This is trait we share with fellow Southeast Asians, with 74 percent of Malaysians, and 79 percent of Thais also opting to take their family members to the beach.
What do we do to get “beach-ready”?
88 percent of Singapore beachgoers admitted that they will never postpone a beach vacation just to get in shape. This number is very much in line with global figures with the exception of Thai travelers, with 32 percent preferring to hit the gym before a holiday.
However, 45 percent of us would go shopping for a new swimwear, with 17 percent choosing to go for spa treatments just to look selfie perfect. On average, we spend an average of SGD$82 on getting “beach-ready” before a trip.
Even when overseas, we love safe, clean and green
Singapore is well known for her cleanliness and safety, and this may have a part to play when beachgoers select their holiday destinations. 92 percent citied clean beaches as being very or somewhat important, while 93 percent felt the same way about the safely of their intended destination. Additionally, 92 percent of us also feel that the weather conditions are an important factor when selecting their intended holiday spot.
What do we do at the beach?
In line with our habit of relaxing while on a vacation, Singapore beachgoers also enjoy their holidays by taking long walks on the beach (62 percent), watching the sunrise or sunset (45 percent) or just spending time watching other holidaymakers at play (46 percent).
Singaporeans are also tops when it comes to WiFi use at the beach, with 68 percent opting to browse the internet and their social media feeds, compared to the global average of just 48 percent. When it comes to posting photos of ourselves in swimwear on social media, 31 percent admitted that they would do so only after reviews and edits. This number is again the highest globally, tied only with beachgoers from Mexico.
Jaws still haunts us
38 percent of Singapore beachgoers fear shark attacks, and would avoid swimming entirely because of it. Funny as it may be, this same quirk is shared amongst our friends in Malaysia (35 percent), with Hong Kong-ers (53 percent) being the most afraid among all 24 countries polled.
When asked to rank their top fears at the beach, Singaporeans highlighted theft (38 percent), bad weather (15 percent) and drowning (13 percent) as their top three causes for concern.
Survey Methodology
This study was conducted on behalf of Expedia by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm. This survey was conducted online from April 6 to April 21, 2016 across North America, Europe, South America and Asia Pacific using the Kantar-owned GMI (Global Market Insite) and Lightspeed Research amalgamated group of panels.
The study was conducted among 11,115 adults aged 18 years of age and older across 24 countries. Sampling quotas and weighting were used to ensure the sample is representative of each country’s population in terms of age and gender. Assuming a probability sample, the margin of error would be +/-0.93 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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