‘Readers continue to travel and spend in Asia despite financial gloom’

Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia magazine conducted its annual online reader survey in July and August 2009 among 580 respondents. In terms of destinations, Thailand remains No. 1 among survey respondents.
Within the last 12 months, approximately 97% of our readers traveled within Southeast Asia for Leisure purposes - similar to last year. In the same period, business travel within the region decreased by 3% to a still-solid 60%.

Readers indicate that price is a more important factor nowadays, but we do not see a significant shift towards budget/low-cost options as a result of this. However, some important changes were noted in the air travel. “We do see people moving to the back of the plane, with 19% indicating they usually fly First or Business Class compared with 24% a year earlier. It is also interesting to note that brand loyalty remains significant for Airlines and Hotels.

For more information, contact Robert Fernhout, publisher, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it