Singapore tops dream travel destination for Myanmar consumers: MasterCard Survey

SINGAPORE – Singapore has topped a list of dream destination cities for Myanmar consumers, according to a MasterCard Worldwide survey. Singapore is the ultimate destination of choice for Myanmar’s travelers, ahead of other popular cities such as New York, Bangkok, Seoul, and Paris.

According to the MasterCard survey, less than 1 in 5 travelled abroad for leisure in the past 12 months, with majority citing time and financial constraints as the main barrier. However, for the people who did travel abroad, nearly 4 out of 5 people intend to do so again within the next 12 months. Singapore was the top international city they plan to visit citing shopping, sightseeing, and experiencing different cuisines as the main reasons for travel.

Domestically, 73% of those surveyed have travelled in Myanmar within the past 12 months and more than 4 out of 5 people intend to do so again within the next 12 months. The top local cities of choice are Taunggyi, Mandalay, Pathein.

“Our latest survey data shows continued confidence across the developing markets in South East Asia. The result from Myanmar is one of the highest in the 20 year history of MasterCard's confidence survey in Asia-Pacific. This shows how the recent opening of the economy has created significant optimism which bodes well for the country's future,” said Matthew Driver, president, South East Asia, MasterCard Worldwide.

According to the latest MasterCard’s Index of Consumer Confidence Myanmar1 consumers are extremely optimistic with 94.9 Index points. Myanmar’s scores are the result of a recent expansion to the Consumer Confidence Index.

Myanmar’s travelers spend just over MMK 200,000 (US$230) per person on average for domestic leisure trips, while the average amount spent on international trips is about 6 times higher. Understandably enough, cash is the overwhelmingly dominant mode of payment for both international and domestic travel at present. According to the survey, Myanmar’s consumers also spending close to US$90 per month on dining out.

Myanmar’s recent opening up has provided positive spillover effect into the tourism sector with inbound visitors to the Golden Land’s topping a million in 2012, and numbers are expected to surge another 30% this year. “Certainly the country is seeing a boost to tourist and business traveler arrivals in response to the opening of the economy. There is a huge amount of interest and Myanmar has quickly become one of the “must go to” destinations of 2013 and we are confident that this growth will continue. Neighboring countries such as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia also stand to gain from this tourism growth,” Driver added.

The MasterCard Consumer Purchasing Priorities survey aims to understand the consumer outlook of Asia/Pacific markets focusing on spending priorities across key demographics in Asia, Middle East and Africa. Interviews in Myanmar were conducted with 411 residents with bank accounts in Yangon and Mandalay between December 2012 and January 2013.

source: Travel Daily News

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