Spanning 14 markets, Amadeus Journey of Me Insights is the most comprehensive
research
on Asia Pacific (APAC) travellers to date
Malaysia report reveals that 57% of Malaysian
travellers would be open to sharing their personal information in return for a
more personalised travel experience
Albert
Pozo, President of Amadeus Asia Pacific said, “There
is no traveller today quite as important as the Asia Pacific traveller. Yet the
irony is that even as we talk about the ‘Asia Pacific traveller’ – it doesn’t
exist. The diversity we see across nationalities, gender and generation in this
region is astounding. More than that, our research has showed us that the
preferences, behaviours and demands of travellers vary enormously from one
country to another. The industry must come to grips with this. The
one-size-fits-all approach is a thing of the past.”
As part of the Journey of Me Insights project, Amadeus today publishes a report on
Malaysian travellers titled “Journey of
Me Insights: What Malaysian travellers want”. From when and how Malaysian
travellers plan and book their trips, to how and why they want to stay
connected while travelling, to how frequently they use sharing economy
services, and the types of new technologies they would be most interested in,
the study takes a multi-faceted look at what Malaysian travellers want. The
findings unveiled four themes for travel providers to focus on:
The
personalisation-privacy paradox –64% of Asia
Pacific travellers interviewed are open to sharing personal data for more
relevant offers and personalised experiences. Slightly more cautious, 57% of
Malaysian travellers feel the same.For travel providers, the mandate is clear
–personalisation must be carefully balanced against rising privacy concerns. They
will need to respect and protect personal data and the need for privacy at all
times. Above and beyond adhering to legislation, travel players must be able to
articulate ‘what’s the value?’ to get travellers to share their data.
Get
real: Recommendations they can trust – Travellers
take their lead from other travellers. Inspiration is the doorway to
opportunity for travel providers, but authenticity is the key to unlocking it. Rather
than the glossy pictures of travel brochures or the carefully curated Instagram
feeds of celebrities, Asia Pacific travellers seek what’s genuine, and turn to
their fellow travellers for inspiration.When planning trips, Malaysian
travellers are most influenced by word of mouth from friends, family and
colleagues as well as traveller reviews. Their social network and travel review
sites were likewise voted most likely to have sent them relevant recommendations
about travel.
The
right content, through the right channel, at the right time– In the world of travel, every engagement point matters. Beyond
personalisation, connecting with travellers in a timely and intuitive manner is
equally important. While the vast majority of Malaysian travellers would be
interested in receiving travel recommendations from the moment they consider a
trip all the way up to while they are on the trip, travel players must consider
carefully how to connect with them and with what content.42% of Malaysian
travellers prefer to receive updates and recommendations about their trip
through e-mail, with only 4% happy to be contacted via phone call. Recommendations
that help them save money was the top choice for Malaysian travellers (51%),
while time saving tips were less popular (12%).
There
are many Asias within Asia – The most dominant
observation from Journey of Me Insights is
that there is no consistent profile for the Asia Pacific traveller. Stark
contrasts in behaviours, needs and preferences were observed across all
geographic and demographic lines. For example, while 66% of Chinese travellers
do most of their trip booking on mobile, only 39% of Malaysian travellers do
so. Separately, while 70% of Japanese travellers have never used a sharing
economy service for trip accommodation, 64% of Malaysian travellers have, and almost
half of all Indian travellers say they do so ‘often’ and ‘very often’. And
while 84% of Singaporean travellers think it’s important to find service staff
at the destination that speak a language they understand, only half (47%) of
Malaysians do, withHong Kong travellers (4%) even less likely to think the
same.
Miro
Blazevic, General Manager, Amadeus Malaysia added, “At
Amadeus, our goal is to help the travel industry thrive by putting the
traveller at the centre of everything we do. That’s why we’re investing to understand
who they are and what they want. The Malaysia report gives us many interesting
insights – some expected, others less so. One of the observations that stood
out to me was how important cost-saving is to Malaysian travellers. Indeed, the
number of Malaysians travelling overseas fell last year as a result of a
weakened ringgit, so this is not surprising.[1] But this
can be an opportunity to travel players, if for example, they can help build
more rewarding journeys for their travellers that also saves them money. With Amadeus Journey of Me Insights, we hope
to help our customers and partners shape a future of travel that travellers
want.”
Journey
of Me Insights was conducted in collaboration with
YouGov across 14 markets in Asia Pacific including Australia, China, Hong Kong,
India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore,
Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, wereprovided
by YouGov. Total sample size was 6,870 adults
across Asia Pacific who have travelled internationally in the last 12 months.
Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th and 17th May 2017. The survey was carried out online.
For further information on the research
methodology and more findings, click here.
About Amadeus
Amadeus is a leading provider of advanced
technology solutions for the global travel industry. Customer groups include
travel providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail and ferry operators, etc.),
travel sellers (travel agencies and websites), and travel buyers (corporations
and travel management companies).
The Amadeus group employs around 15,000 people
worldwide, across central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters), Nice
(development) and Erding (operations), as well as 70 local Amadeus Commercial
Organisations globally.
This
year marks 30 years since Amadeus was founded. Throughout 2017, the company
will be celebrating 30 years of collaboration with customers, 30 years of
technological innovation and 30 years of helping power better journeys for
travellers all over the world.
The group operates a transaction-based business
model.
Amadeus is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange
under the symbol “AMS.MC” and is a component of the IBEX 35 index.
To find out more about Amadeus please visit www.amadeus.com, and www.amadeus.com/blog for more on
the travel industry.