Where are all your friends this CNY?

SINGAPORE — It’s been a known practice for Singaporeans to scoot off for a long weekend. Data from flight comparison website Skyscanner showed that there has consistently been an increase in travel out of Singapore for the past few years. “A growing number of Singaporeans are choosing to take advantage of the long Chinese New Year weekend to travel to nearby destinations with their families. Our data revealed a year-on-year increase of 128 per cent in outbound flight searches by Singapore travellers during this period,” said Pamela Knaggs, Marketing Manager, Skyscanner Singapore and Malaysia.

With this year’s Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays falling on a Monday and Tuesday, there are easily four days of vacation that can be stretched into a five-day or even one-week vacay with some expedient 
leave-taking.

Of course, many are already flocking overseas from tomorrow. Travel search engine Kayak revealed that 49 per cent of flight searches for the month of February are for those departing on Feb 5 and 6. This is supplemented by information from vacation rental website Airbnb, whereby there has been a surge in bookings with three or more guests during this period. They make up 55 per cent of all Airbnb’s bookings from Singapore — compared to 30 per cent for the rest of the year.

The high demand for travel during this time has also led to higher prices. The most expensive time to travel this year is the second week of February, according to Skyscanner. This means that travellers are spending more during this time. Travel search site Wego revealed that travellers from Asian cities have bigger travel budgets this CNY too.

“The average booking values for both flights and hotels on Wego.com is much higher this year, compared to 2015,” said James Huang, market development manager, North Asia, Wego. “It’s an indication that travellers have allowed a higher budget allocation for travel during the Chinese New Year period.”

While the highest jump belonged to Hong Kong travellers, who registered a 10 per cent rise in their budgets, travellers from Singapore have increased their spending by 6 per cent compared to last year.

Given the length of this year’s festive season, destination-wise, Singaporean travellers are also going beyond the usual suspects of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Six out of the top 10 destinations searched on Skyscanner during this period are further than Thailand — it includes Tokyo, Manila, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul. Interestingly too, the top destination for Airbnb users from Singapore during CNY is Tokyo, followed by Kuala Lumpur, Osaka and Perth. Kayak has also shared that the Aussie destinations of Gold Coast, Darwin, Cairns trended well for CNY in terms of searches 
by Singaporeans.

And if you need even more evidence that your friends are probably “steamboating” in style while overseas, consider this: Airbnb said that properties equipped with kitchens are the most searched for type of accommodation for CNY travellers, with 70 per cent opting to stay in an apartment or loft, while close to 29 per cent going for villas or houses.