After travel restrictions lifted in China in early January, the first positive indication of the consumer appetite for travel was seen during the first major holiday. During the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday in China, national tourism revenue surged by 30% from last year to 375.84 billion yuan, according to official figures. While that is still short of 2019 spending and a gradual return to travel is expected, it is clear that the desire to travel still remains. The APAC market overall has been impacted by stringent Chinese travel restrictions, but the removal of these is a welcome development as we head towards peak travel season.   

With these positive sentiments emerging, the Aviation Festival Asia 2023 in Singapore could not have come at a better time. Datalex’s Chief Revenue Officer Bryan Porter will be taking part in a panel discussion on the steps towards a customer-centric future of ancillary purchasing. Bryan will also be hosting an exclusive roundtable session at the event on distribution control to discuss how airlines can leverage a unified merchandising layer to access a greater slice of the ‘distribution pie’ across all channels. Bryan will be discussing market trends and insights from Datalex's recent research report which examines the digital retail transformation priorities for airlines in 2023. With the loosening of travel restrictions in China, we take a look at specific insights from Datalex’s research into traveller sentiment in APAC regions such as Singapore and Australia.  

Bundling is an untapped opportunity: 66% of travellers in Singapore are more likely to complete a purchase when bundled  

Despite an environment that is challenging with the cost of living and inflation, price is not always the deciding factor when shoppers are making purchasing decisions. A bundle that complements the customer’s journey has greater potential than many believe, with the practice presenting very low risk to the airline – given the right tools. While the majority of travellers globally are more likely to complete a booking when bundled (70%), this was seen across all geographies surveyed and holds true for APAC regions such as Singapore (66%) and Australia (63%).  

While Datalex found that the global sweetspot for offering ancillaries to customers pre-trip is 1-6 days in advance of travel with 60% most likely to add an additional product within this window, the global average is aligned with those in Singapore. 61% are most likely to purchase additional ancillary products in the 1-6 days before their trip, comprising of 27% favouring 1-3 days before and 34% indicating the 4-6 days before the trip. These findings support the need for flexible ancillary configuration tools like Datalex’s digital configurator which can flex to offer ancillaries at the most relevant point for a particular journey. On the other side, when questioned about the number one barrier for booking additional ancillaries from an airline, 37% of those in Singapore simply cited ‘better offers elsewhere.’  

Digital Experience is High on the Agenda - 62% of end travellers in Singapore are concerned that a lack of digital self-service or online support from airlines will impact their travel plans in 2023 

Datalex’s recent research report which surveyed over 10,000 global travellers uncovered several insights into the ‘digital disparity’ that exists between traveller expectations and airline realities. In terms of traveller’s overall impression of the digital experience that airlines provide in the context of the APAC market, we saw that over a third (33%) of end travellers in Singapore believe that airlines are behind other e-commerce providers like Amazon, while this is slightly higher in Australia with 39% of end travellers believing they are behind. From an overall digital experience point of view when making a booking, the number one factor impacting travellers in Singapore is the ease of booking, with 65% citing this as the most important factor.  

This impression extends to the actual anticipated travel experience, as 62% of end travellers in Singapore are concerned that a lack of digital self-service or online support from airlines will impact their travel plans in 2023. The Australian market are not too dissimilar with over half (52%) of travellers concerned about the lack of digital self-service impacting their plans. It is notable that those in Singapore and Australia are more likely to be concerned than those in the UK (39%), aswell as those in Germany (32%).  

Alternative payments are gaining traction with 82% of those in Singapore likely to prioritise the use of loyalty points as a form of payment – higher than the global average 

Three quarters (75%) of all travellers surveyed are most likely to prioritise the use of loyalty points as a payment method for travel. This finding was highest amongst respondents in the USA (91%), followed by Brazil (87%) and Singapore (82%). Travellers across geographies are searching for alternative payment methods with two thirds (67%) of travellers surveyed eager to see more flexible payment and reservation options for flights, similar to how other e-commerce sites operate (E.g. BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) or Apple Pay) while just 16% do not.