act as a catalyst influencing the consumer travel · travel industry, with consumers adopting online travel tools to plan and manage their trips. Now, mobile technologies act as a

The birth of the internet had an enormous impact on the travel industry, with consumers adopting online travel tools to plan and manage their trips. Now, mobile technologies act as a catalyst inf luencing the consumer travel journey. Mobile devices allow travellers to be constantly connected, up-to-date and one step ahead in the planning and managing of trips while on-the-go.

Travel search engine KAYAK.com.hk discovered that while digital is on the rise, offline is definitely not dead. The travel search engine asked Hong Kongers to compare how the rising usage of mobile devices has impacted the way they plan and manage their travel now, versus 10 years ago. The travel experts have also crunched KAYAK’s data to observe how Hong Kong travellers look for their next holiday when using KAYAK’s app on mobile devices and the KAYAK.com.hk website, revealing the latest trends for the mobile Hong Kong traveller.

Mobile Travel Report

Table of contents

Inspiration and travel planning: Hong Kongers turn to computer for inspiration and holiday planning

Travel booking habits: mobile is on the rise but 68% of Hong Kongers still use the computer to purchase their holidays

On-the-go: Hong Kongers still prefer printing their travel documents but share experiences via the digital world

Hong Kong Traveller Profiles: The iOS Traveller The Android Traveller The Computer Traveller

Inspiration and travel planning: Hong Kongers still turn to computer for inspiration and holiday planning


Inspiration sources: seeking friends’ advice is becoming less and less of a habit

Hong Kongers seek out travel inspiration in a very different form today than 10 years ago. Back in the day 56% of Hong

Kongers consulted their local travel agent, followed by word of mouth through family, friends and colleagues (49%), reading printed guide books (39%), or magazines and newspapers (36%). Online sources were less popular, with nearly one quarter (24%) of Hong Kongers consulting blogs, 18% checking airline and hotel websites and 17% using OTAs (online travel agents). Social media was less popular for travel inspiration, with just 15% using it at the time.

These days the way Hong Kong travellers gain travel inspiration has changed completely, particularly when looking at online vs. offline platforms. 58% of Hong Kongers now consult OTAs, and the number referring to social media (39%) and blogs (also 39%) has more than doubled compared to ten years ago. Local travel agents have seen a sharp decline in popularity, with just 33% of Hong Kongers these days opting to use these offline services for travel inspiration. This is highlighted further when looking at the age split, where the younger generation (under 35 yrs) turns even more to online inspiration, with 57% using social media and 48% reading blogs. This shows that Hong Kongers today are more willing to look online as a prime source of gaining travel inspiration.

Compared to the rest of the Asia Pacific, Hong Kongers are more likely to use a local travel agent for inspiration (33% vs. 26%) than the average APAC traveller. When it comes to social media, however, Singaporean travellers top the scale, with 44% fuelling their travel dreams via social channels.

49% 49%

Asking family, friends, or colleagues

34% 25%

Watching TV

18% 41%

Checking airlines or hotels websites

36% 44%

Reading magazines/newspapers online or offline

15% 39%

Checking online travel agencies

39% 42%

Reading guide books/informational brochures

56% 33%

Asking travel agents

14% 21%

Checking tourism association information

17% 58%

Checking online travel agencies

11% 8%

Listening to radio

24% 39%

Reading blogs

4% 4%

Other

10 years ago Today


Computers are still the main tool for Hong Kongers to search for their next holiday

The research showed that 66% of Hong Kongers use their computer to search for inspiration for their next

trip, whereas 32% turn to either a tablet or smartphone. Looking at the age split, usage across devices in all age groups is fairly similar, indicating young and older Hong Kongers are just as likely to use particular devices to gain travel inspiration.

Smartphone None of the aboveTablet

22% 2%10%Computer

66%


The Internet and new technologies have not helped Hong Kongers save time on travel planning

Nearly half (44%) of Hong Kong travellers feel they are spending more time to plan their travel these days than they did a decade ago. In fact, a closer look reveals that 50% of the under 35 age segment feel they spend more time planning travel now, than 10 years ago. This indicates that while Hong Kongers these days may perceive this method as faster and more transparent, with more avenues and

infinite options for individual travel research, the time spent researching is actually increasing.

Across APAC, travellers indicated mixed feelings regarding time spent on travel planning nowadays vs. 10 years ago, with 39% indicating that they spend more time, 30% spending less time and 26% spending the same amount of time.

112

399

6

More time44%

Same amount of time22%

Less time32%

You are not concerned, you didn't and still don't book your trips

2%

££

££

££

Travel booking habits: mobile is on the rise but 68% of Hong Kongers still use the computer to purchase their holidays


Services and platforms used: today websites are the major booking method but local travel agencies still play a role

A decade ago, Hong Kongers preferred to book their trips offline, with 53% turning to a local travel agent

to lock down their travel, while only 31% did so online. This tendency has clearly changed as 84% of Hong Kong travellers indicate they book their trips online these days, with only 22% still using a local travel agent. In the broader picture this sets Hong Kongers just behind Singaporeans (89%), but ahead of Australians (78%) in the uptake of online booking. For Australians and Singaporeans, hotel or airline websites are the preferred platforms for booking travel, whereas Hong Kongers are more likely to use an OTA.

Where Hong Kong travellers turn to online platforms for booking, the use of OTAs increased from 16% to 69% over the last decade, with travel search engines also gaining popularity (8% vs. 33%), pointing to a desire to independently search and compare prices. With the increasing number of online travel services, higher accessibility to the internet across a variety of devices and raised consumer awareness, it comes as no surprise that the booking habits of Hong Kongers have been considerably influenced by these factors.

53% 22%

A local travel agent

20% 44%

The website of the airline or the hotel directly

8% 5%

At the counter at the airport

8% 33%

An online travel search engine

31% 84%

Online

16% 69%

An online travel agency

5% 3%

Other

41% 25%

The customer service hotline of an airline, hotel or travel agent

10 years ago Today


19% 3%10%68%

The majority of Hong Kong travellers are still more comfortable booking on computer rather than mobile

Hong Kong travellers still prefer to turn to the computer to book their trips, with 68% using a computer rather

than a smartphone (19%) or tablet (10%). Interestingly, this pattern is repeated across all age groups of Hong Kongers. Hong Kongers may undertake the actual booking activity on a computer, as they see this as a more user friendly and secure method compared to mobile. However, it also indicates that Hong Kong travellers are less flexible and spontaneous when it comes to actually booking a trip.

Smartphone None of the aboveTabletComputer

On-the-go: Hong Kongers still prefer printing their travel documents but share experiences via the digital world


Smartphones are not preferred for carrying boarding passes

When checking in for a flight 10 years ago, 74% of Hong Kongers commonly chose to do this at the

airport, while 14% checked in online and printed their boarding pass at home. At the time, only a small number of Hong Kong travellers used their mobile device (8%) for checking in and carrying their boarding pass digitally. With technological advancement, this has changed markedly. These days more than one third of Hong Kongers (39%) check in online and print boarding passes at home. Checking in at the airport still remains popular, with 34% choosing this method. One quarter (25%) of average Hong Kong travellers now choose to carry their boarding pass on their mobile after checking in on their smartphone these days which represents a significant increase compared to ten years ago (8%).

3% 1%

74% 34%

14% 39%

8% 25%

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10 years ago Today


Holiday habits have changed in the last 10 years

Holiday habits of Hong Kongers have changed over the last decade. At number one a decade ago, sightseeing has now been replaced by eating out.

Relaxing has also gained popularity, moving from fourth to third position over the course of ten years. Hong Kong travellers clearly enjoy delving into all their destination has to offer before just relaxing or lying on the beach. This approach is shared by Singaporean and Australian travellers, however, Singaporeans also tend to be the biggest shoppers, with 60% indicating they enjoy this activity while holidaying.

When it comes to posting on social media while travelling, an increasing number of Hong Kongers enjoy this more these days (11%) than a decade ago (3%). This trend can be seen across all age groups of Hong Kong travellers, due in part to the number of social media channels available and a paradigm shift, but also attributable to the increase of access to the internet when travelling. Across APAC, average Singaporean travellers (21%) are more likely to post experiences on social media than Australians (14%) or Hong Kongers (11%).

10 years ago Today83%

71% Sightseeing

4%

4% Sports

15%

13% Entertainment

48%

47% Shopping

65%

72%

Eating out

3%

11% Posting your experiences

on social media

36%

50%

Relaxing

1%

2% Other


10%

Mobile Phones are almost as popular as computers for holiday leisure activities

For their holiday activities of choice, Hong Kongers today are almost as likely to reach for a smartphone (39%),

as a computer (41%). Amongst the younger generation (under 35), the smartphone (45%) is more popular than the computer (38%). The tablet is the least used device among all Hong Kongers (10%), with 10% also indicating they remain offline during their preferred holiday activities.

The average APAC traveller is far ahead of the average European traveller when it comes to using mobiles devices for their holiday leisure activities (42% vs. 29%). A closer look reveals this is strongly driven by Singaporeans, with more than half (54%) indicating they use a smartphone for this purpose.

41% 39% 10%Smartphone None of the aboveTabletComputer


Sharing travel experiences using mobile devices is becoming a major habit for Hong Kongers

Shar ing trave l exper iences has changed most dramatically in the last decade. In person meet-ups

with friends and family were the most popular way for Hong Kongers to share travel experiences a decade ago (62%), with old school photo albums or slideshows also topping the list. At that time 31% of Hong Kong travellers were already sharing their experiences online, mainly via social media networks (14%) or sending emails (13%). These days, sharing experiences online is taking over, showing a rapid rise to 81% over the course of the decade, with 72% sharing via social networks, 17% writing online reviews and 14% writing blogs.

Instant forms of experience-sharing are the preferred choice for Hong Kong travellers, reflecting the response to the number of social channels, chat based apps and online sharing platforms now available. Hong Kong women are more eager to share their travel experiences on social channels than men (75% vs. 67%), but are also more likely to share their experiences directly offline with family and friends (66% vs. 58%).

31% Online

81%

26% Sending postcards

12%

14%

72%With pictures, videos and

text on social networks

5%Writing direct reviews on travel review or destination specific sites/apps 17%

13%Sending emails

14%

9%

14%

Writing a travel blog

27%Calling them

15%

62% Meeting them and sharing your experiences48%

37%Showing photo albums or travel slide shows 22%

3%Other

2%

10 years ago Today


Smartphone48%

Tablet10%

Computer37%

5%None of the

above

Sharing travel experiences using mobile devices is becoming a major habit for Hong Kongers

Hong Kongers prefer to use a smartphone (48%) to share travel experiences, rather than a computer (37%) or

tablet (10%), with women being more likely to share holiday experiences on a mobile device than men. It is no surprise that those in the 18-24 age bracket are the most likely to choose the smartphone (56%), over the computer (34%) for vacation experience sharing.

Hong Kong Traveller Profiles


01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

Travel trends: the most popular destinations differ depending on the device

The research has shown that Hong Kong travellers’ favourite holiday destinations depend on the device

they are using. While Bangkok is the top destination for Android users, Tokyo takes first place for iOS and computer users. Taipei comes in third for all devices.

Android HKD iOS HKD Computer HKD

Bangkok 2,986 Tokyo 3,145 Tokyo 3,463

London 5,477 Bangkok 2,169 Bangkok 1,989

Taipei 1,572 Taipei 1,583 Taipei 1,715

Paris 3,780 Singapore 1,638 Singapore 1,568

Tokyo 2,224 London 7,504 London 5,819

Seoul 2,377 Seoul 2,637 Seoul 2,705

Osaka 2,495 Osaka 2,616 Hong Kong 4,735

Amsterdam 3,547 Hong Kong 5,309 Osaka 2,821

Singapore 1,428 Phuket 3,050 New York 7,824

New York 4,909 Paris 6,431 Phuket 2,919


Spending on the most popular destinations for flights: iOS users are the least price sensitive

Hong Kong mobile users spend 6% less than computer users on flights to the top 10 destinations. Between

mobile users, iOS users tend to spend 17% more than Android users on average. When booking a trip to the top 3 destinations, Android users spend significantly more on average than computer or iOS users, at HK$3,343 as compared to HK$2,387 and HK$2,298 respectively.

AndroidHKD397

iOSHKD465

ComputerHKD458

MobileHKD440


Hotel Star Ratings: searching from mid to high range is the norm

For hotels, Hong Kongers on a computer are more likely to book luxury hotels than both Android and iOS users,

with 37% of all searches being for 5-star hotels, while the most popular search for iOS and Android is 4-star hotels. Across APAC, Hong Kong desktop users are the most set on luxury, with 73% of bookings for 4 and 5-star hotels. APAC iOS users book more 4 and 5-star hotels than Android users in the same region.

Android iOS Computer

37%37%

35%

23%

28%

12%

2%

34%

23%

5%

1%

36%

21%

5%

1%


Booking Decision: Hong Kongers are more spontaneous on mobile than on their computer

Hong Kong Android and iOS users are faster on average than computer users when deciding which flight to

book (4, 5 and 7 minutes respectively). Hong Kong mobile users are also 1 minute faster than desktop users when choosing a hotel to book, taking 5 minutes on average instead of 6. At 4 minutes to book, Hong Kong Android users are the fastest, with all other Android and iOS users in the APAC region taking an average of 5 minutes.

Average time to book a flight in minutes Average time to book a hotel in minutes

Android

iOS

Mobile

Computer


Busiest travel months differ according to device

Although users differ, there are also behaviours similar across devices. The most popular month of travel for

Android is February, while iOS and computer users prefer December. For computer users, April is the next best month to travel, while for iOS and Android users jetting off in April is the third best option.

Android iOS

FEB DEC

Computer


Hong Kong iOS Traveller Persona

Spends

HK$3606 on flights to the top 10

destinations

Most popular destination is

Tokyo

Takes

5 minutes to

book a flight

Takes

5 minutes to

book a hotel

Most popular travel month is

December

Prefers to book

4-star hotels


Hong Kong Android Traveller Persona

Spends


destinations


Bangkok

Takes

4 minutes to

book a flight

Takes

5 minutes to

book a hotel


February

Prefers to book

4-star hotels


Hong Kong Computer Traveller Persona

Spends


destinations


Tokyo

Takes

7 minutes to

book a flight

Takes

6 minutes to

book a hotel


December

Prefers to book

5-star hotels

www.kayak.com.hk

Survey OpinionWay for KAYAK: The report is based on survey findings in cooperation with OpinionWay, conducted across 12 countries and regions in Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Poland, Russia, France)

and Asia Pacific (Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia), with samples of 1000 respondents per country. Mobile Traveller Profiles and resulting Traveller Personas are based on flight and hotel searches and clicks made on

KAYAK.co.hk for travel in 2015.

act as a catalyst influencing the consumer travel · travel industry, with consumers adopting online travel tools to plan and manage their trips. Now, mobile technologies act as a

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