Asians to spend more on Christmas family vacations compared to the rest of the world

A new global survey by a vacation rental company HomeAway reveals that almost 33% of Asian families who celebrate Christmas will be spending more than $1,000 on travel during the festive season, compared to only 22% globally.

And 20% surveyed from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea will spend more than US$1,000 on accommodation alone, compared to only 12% who spend this much on average.

The results also reveal the biggest barrier for Asian families to holiday travel is accommodation costs (27%), followed by the hassle of planning to travel (20%). However, only 5% of Asian families are held back from travelling due to tradition, which is the second biggest barrier globally (17%).

“In Asia, we find Christmas and New Year to be one the busiest periods for travel and this year we have seen a peak in travelers looking for vacation rentals particularly within the region,” said Prashant Kirtane, HomeAway Vice President, Asia. During the festive period, the biggest travel destinations for Singapore include staycations at home in Singapore, and trips to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul.”

Santa who?

The study also revealed that Asian children are less likely to believe in Santa compared to other regions. However, for those who believe in Santa, it is a real concern that he won’t be able to find them away from home (65%). Furthermore, those who do believe in Father Christmas, are less likely to contact him the traditional way, by letter (52% versus 72%), and are more likely to pay him a visit in a mall or email him. To help the tech-savvy kids who email Santa, HomeAway offers a simple interactive tool found at RerouteSanta.com that lets traveling children communicate with Santa to let him know where they are going to be for Christmas.

Singapore holiday hopefuls

HomeAway also asked parents in Singapore about their holiday plans:

• More than 60% of Singaporean parents said it’s important to be with family at Christmas. Around 40% of those surveyed are spending Christmas at home, with 26% going to friends or family’s home.

• Nearly a third (36%) of Singaporean respondents will spend Christmas with six or more family members.

• Nearly two-thirds (63%) will travel less than 100 miles for Christmas.

• Staying with family comes at a comfort cost. Singapore parents said they’ve slept on the floor (25%), shared a room with children (26%), slept on a couch (25%), and even slept in the car (10%).

• People who have rented a vacation home for this holiday season said they prioritized more space, value, multiple bedrooms, and a kitchen.

Touchstone Research surveyed 2,500 people in Asia for the Holiday Survey.