Kiwis and Aussies really know how to switch off and enjoy their travels

Compared to other travellers in Asia, Australians use their mobiles less when planning and travelling. Only one in three (33%) use a mobile for researching and one in five (20%) for booking a trip. This is compared to 54% and 46% respectively for Asian travellers. The majority of Australians (81%) still do their travel research and booking on a laptop or a desktop computer.

Australian travellers also prefer to receive updates and recommendations about their trip via email (62%), a channel which they trust. On the other hand, Asian travellersare more diverse in their preferences, including instant messaging services, travel company apps, and social media.

Furthermore, Australians are also less inclined to use sharing economy apps compared to their Asian counterparts. According to our study very interestingly, almost half (49%) of Australian travellers have never used a sharing economy service such as Uber and Airbnb, whereas a whopping 75% of Asian travellers have used such apps. They also like to disconnect while travelling, with only 19% needing to stay up to date with work or business, compared to 32% in Asia.

Similarly, New Zealandersare also less reliant on their mobiles when planning and travelling. Only one quarter (28%) use a mobile for researching and one in ten (11%) for booking a trip. Like their Aussie counterparts, an overwhelming amount of New Zealanders still do their travel research (92%) and booking (86%) on a laptop or computer. New Zealanders also prefer to receive updates and recommendations about their trip via email (70%), which is significantly higher than the regional average (35%).

These are just a few of the insightful takeaways from our landmark research. For more, check out our study, Journey of Me Insights: What Asia Pacific travellers want, which is the most comprehensive research on Asia Pacific travellers to date.