April 13th, 2023, Samuel Tan
In early February, the Hong Kong tourism board announced plans to distribute 500,000 free airline tickets to the territory as part of its ‘Hello Hong Kong’ campaign to boost international travel to the region.
The marketing blitz, which launched in two phases over March, targets select countries in Southeast Asia. During phase 1, which ran for the first half of the month, travellers from Thailand, Singapore and Philippines stood to win complimentary flights to Hong Kong; phase 2, which ran for the latter half of the month, was geared to travellers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia.
But how aware are consumers in these countries of the promotional drive? And did the campaign raise existing travel consideration to Hong Kong in these markets? In this article, we dive into the latest consumer data for Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.
Thailand: Miss
Latest data from YouGov DestinationIndex, which tracks consumer perceptions toward travel destinations on a daily basis worldwide, shows that Thai consumer awareness of advertisements promoting Hong Kong as a travel destination largely remained the same, since the campaign was first unveiled until the announcement of the ticket winners.
Awareness of Hong Kong travel ads rose by 0.9 percentage points from 21.7% on 2 February (campaign announced) to 22.6% by 1 March (start of campaign for Thai travellers), before falling 2.1 percentage points to 20.5% by 17 March (announcement of campaign winners of free flight tickets).
Consideration of Hong Kong as a travel destination rose by five percentage points two weeks after the campaign’s announcement – from 14.3% on 2 February to 19.3% by 13 February – before starting on a downward trend.
By the start of the campaign on 1 March, Consideration for Hong Kong travel measured at 11.4% – down 2.9 percentage points from when it was first announced. There were no significant changes in Thai consumers’ level of consideration for Hong Kong as a travel destination over the campaign period, which stood at 11.8% by 17 March when the ticket winners were revealed.
Among Thai travellers who indicate Hong Kong as the destination they are most likely to next visit, travel costs are the top consideration when choosing where to holiday. Latest data from YouGov Global Travel Profiles, which tracks global consumer demand and attitudes towards travel on a daily basis, shows that more than two in five of such Thai travellers indicate that overall value for money (45%) and cheap flights, lodging, activities (42%) influence their choice of holiday destination.
Singapore: Hit
Latest data from YouGov DestinationIndex, shows that Singaporean consumer awareness of advertisements promoting Hong Kong as a travel destination has increased sharply, following the unveiling of the campaign all through the announcement of the ticket winners.
Awareness of Hong Kong travel ads spiked 18.9 percentage points from 6.3% on 2 February (campaign announced) to 25.2% by 2 March (start of campaign for Singaporean travellers), before dipping by 0.3 percentage points to 24.9% by 20 March (announcement of campaign winners of free flight tickets).
Consideration of Hong Kong as a travel destination rose by 2.4 percentage points ten days after the campaign’s announcement – from 12.6% on 2 February to 10.2% by 10 February – before declining until late February.
Thereafter, Singaporean travel consideration to Hong Kong started on an upward trend, reaching 14.3% on 2 March (start of campaign) – up 4.1 percentage points from when the campaign was first publicised. By 20 March, when the campaign winners were revealed, consideration of Hong Kong as a travel destination gained another 1.2 percentage points to reach 15.5%.
Paying a reasonable price for holidaying at a destination that’s easy to reach and safe are the top considerations for Singaporean travellers who say they are most likely to visit Hong Kong for their next vacation.
Latest data from YouGov Global Travel Profiles, shows that around two in five of such Singaporean travellers indicate that overall value for money (41%), availability of transport to holiday destination such as direct flights and trains (37%) and safety measures such as cleanliness and crowd levels (37%) influence their choice of holiday destination.
Indonesia: Miss
Latest data from YouGov DestinationIndex, shows that Indonesian consumer awareness of advertisements promoting Hong Kong as a travel destination largely remained the same, since the campaign was first unveiled till the announcement of the ticket winners.
Awareness of Hong Kong travel ads inched up by 0.3 percentage points from 8.8% on 2 February (campaign announced) to 9.1% by 3 March (start of campaign for Indonesian travellers), before falling 1.8 percentage points to 7.3% by 31 March (announcement of campaign winners of free flight tickets).
Consideration of Hong Kong as a travel destination was on a downtrend trend after the campaign’s announcement until the last week of February where it recovered slightly. By the start of the campaign on 15 March, consideration for Hong Kong travel was 4.6% – down 4.2 percentage points from when it was first unveiled.
Thereafter, Indonesian travel consideration to Hong Kong started on an upward trend until 18 March, gaining 3.3 percentage points over three days to reach 7.9%. By 31 March, when the ticket winners were revealed, consideration of Hong Kong as a travel destination fell back to 4.2%.
Holidaying at a beautiful destination that’s easy to reach and safe are the top considerations for Indonesian travellers who say they are most likely to visit Hong Kong for their next vacation.
The latest data from YouGov Global Travel Profiles, shows that more than two in five of such Indonesian travellers indicate that outstanding natural beauty in/near my holiday destination (45%) influence their destination choice, while over a third say the availability of transport to holiday destination such as direct flights and trains (37%) and safety measures such as cleanliness and crowd levels (37%) are also key factors.
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Methodology: YouGov DestinationIndex tracks consumer perceptions toward travel destinations on a daily basis in 30 countries worldwide. A destination’s Ad Awareness score is based on the question: “Which of the following destinations have you seen an advertisement for in the past two weeks?” (% Yes). A destination’s Consideration score is based on the question: “Thinking about your next vacation by air alone or with friends, family, a partner or spouse, which of the following destinations would you consider?” (% Yes). Data referenced in this article from surveys of adults aged 18 years and above residing in Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia between 2 February to 31 March 2023. Figures are based on a two-week moving average. Learn more about DestinationIndex.
YouGov Global Travel Profiles tracks global consumer demand and attitudes towards travel on a daily basis. Data for Thailand is representative of the adult online population and weighted by gender, age, region and monthly household income. Data for Singapore is representative of the national adult population and weighted by age, gender and ethnicity. Data for Indonesia is representative of the adult online population and weighted by gender, age, socioeconomic class, city tier. Learn more about Global Travel Profiles.