Asia's affluent love the sun and the sea

Places with pristine beaches and swanky hotels top the list of family vacation destinations for affluent families living in the Asia Pacific region, results of a recent study by Visa has shown.

The study observed the travel patterns of the affluent consumers around the Asia Pacific and found that 4 in 5 respondents have travelled with their families in the past 6 months and prefer spending their family vacations within the region.

Families from Singapore and China are the most frequent travellers, making about an average of about 3 trips in the past 12 months. Travellers from Hong Kong made about 2.8 trips and those from India made about 2 trips in the same period.

Japan, Hong Kong and Australia were the most popular destinations ranked by respondents at 26 per cent, 25 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.

Relaxing on a beach was picked as the top main activity when on vacation, especially by respondents from China (55%), followed by shopping and sightseeing.

45 per cent of the Singaporean respondents picked shopping in large and popular districts as their top reason for travelling abroad, followed by exploring landmarks (37%) and visiting popular local restaurants (29%).

Travellers from Hong Kong (46%) and Japan (43%) prefer exploring landmarks independently, unlike those from China (52%) and South Korea (39%), who prefer joining sightseeing tours.

When it comes to choice of stay, respondents were more likely to pick staying at upscale and luxury hotels (48% and 39% respectively) over mid-scale ones (35%).

Those who picked upscale hotels are "most likely from China (67%), Hong Kong (53%) and Singapore (49%)", according to the Visa survey. While those from China (55%), Australia (49%) and Hong Kong (43%) were considered most discerning as they were more likely to go for luxury hotel stays.

Boutique hotels are also popular among travelers from Australia (49%), Hong Kong (24%) and Singapore (23%).