GMO Research conducted an overseas travel survey in the last quarter of 2022 to understand the differences in travel patterns between Europe, North America, and the APAC region. The survey was conducted within its panel networks with 3,000 respondents across six countries all over the world, America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Australia.
What were the findings of GMO’s research?
GMO Research had previously conducted this overseas travel survey in October 2022 using the ASIA Cloud Panel targeted at 3,328 monitors in 10 countries and regions all over Asia.
Popular destinations
The top 3 international countries that respondents from North America would like to visit in the future were: Italy (10.5%), the United Kingdom (9%) and Australia and Japan (both tied at 6.8%). The US is a popular destination for Europeans and respondents in the APAC region.
Europeans’ polls also indicated their preference to travel to other countries within their region, mainly Spain (9.3%) and Italy (7.7%). This is similar to those surveyed in the APAC region, indicating their preference for regional travel, visiting Japan (20.3%) and South Korea (6.6%).
When looking at the reasons for each of the countries surveyed selecting the USA as their chosen country to visit, the most common reasons included ‘many tourist attractions (25.4%)’, ‘unique cultural experiences (13.5%)’ and ‘its own natural landscape (9.9%).’ among others.
In comparison, respondents would like to visit Italy as it offered ‘traditional food/drinks (29%)’, ‘unique cultural experiences (24.2%)’, and ‘historic buildings/sites (12.6%)’. A significant number of respondents chose Spain as their future destination for its ‘beach resorts’ (36.1%).
Frequency of travel
Majority of respondents in North America (63.1%), Europe (69.4%) and APAC (56.9%) plan to travel overseas at least once the year ahead. 30–40% of respondents in the U.K., Germany, France and Canada plan to travel abroad twice or more, indicating a high willingness to travel.
In comparison, respondents in Japan (88.6%) and Indonesia (73.2%) have yet to make plans to travel overseas, suggesting that many in Asia remain cautious about international travel.
Information sources of overseas travel
When GMO research was gathering information on overseas travel for this survey, ‘web search’ and ‘word of mouth from friends/acquaintances’ emerged as the most common sources across all the countries. ‘Travel blogs’ and ‘online travel agencies’ were also frequently used.
The use of ‘SNS’ (social media) as a source of information varies, with a significant number of respondents in Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Germany and France citing it as a source, compared to the relatively low percentage in North America.
