Capturing quality tourists

It may be easier said than done, but attracting and capturing quality tourists who are resilient, and perhaps resistant to the vagaries of the global economic movement, is the way to go for countries that are reliant on their tourism sector to bring in foreign investments and revenues.

- MARIANNE GO

According toa recently released tourism study titled “Capturing High Quality Tourism for Southeast Asia” by Oxford Economics, Southeast Asian policymakers are increasingly focused on attracting quality tourists to enhance their tourism industry.

This means, Oxford Economics said, “focusing on boosting the levels of spend per visitor, rather than the overall number of visitors that arrive. The goal is to maximize the economic gains from tourism, while minimizing some of the environmental and social challenges that it can present.”

For travelers, the study said, quality tourism means unique, personalized and immersive experiences that allow high quality tourists to engage with local culture, enjoy the natural environment and feel comfortable in their surroundings.

However, the market for travelers who are willing to pay more for quality experience is highly competitive, Oxford Economics pointed out, with Southeast Asia’s leading destinations vying for position against the world’s tourism hotspots.

Oxford Economics surveyed 1,800 potential Southeast Asian tourists from the region’s five major source markets: China, Korea, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. These source markets accounted for 46 percent of all travel and tourism spending in Southeast Asia in 2019.

Using a discrete-choice experiment to understand how prospective tourists value different aspects of their trips, Oxford Economics uncovered the factors that determine the destination choices travelers make, with a special focus on food and beverage (F&B) experiences, and assessed how much different traveler segments are willing to pay for premium offerings.