By Shree Ann Mathavan

Have money will travel, and it does not matter if there is a recession.

If you have not made your bookings for the year-end holiday yet, chances are, you may not be getting your break away from home.

A check with some major travel agencies shows that packages to holiday spots in the Asia-Pacific region have been a hit. For instance, those to South Korea and Japan are almost snapped up at CTC Holidays.

Ms Alicia Seah, the agency's spokesman, said that almost 95% of places for these packages have been taken up.

Likewise, Miss Ruth Soh, SA Tours' spokesman, said that North Asia is very popular this December, so destinations such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are nearly sold out, 'with only pockets of seats available'.

Those who are looking to head to Australia or New Zealand may also face a ticket crunch.

Ms Jane Chang, Chan Brothers Travel's spokesman, noted that 70 to 80% of its year-end packages have already been snapped up, mostly to countries in the Asia or Asia-Pacific region.

Far-flung countries such as the US and Europe are not as hot, the travel agencies noted.

Fuelling the travel demand are customers such as Madam Jeannie Lim, 44, an accountant. She typically travels at least once or twice a year with her friends or family, and has no plans to change her travel habits despite the recession.

The mother of two was spotted last week at CTC Holidays in Chinatown booking a nine-day vacation to Yunnan, China. The package cost the family of four about $5,400.

Asked why she is not cancelling travel plans, Madam Lim said: 'People won't immediately stop spending unless they can foresee that they don't have a job. Only then, they might be more cautious. So for me, I don't stop unless I feel I am not going to have a job.'

De-stress

She added: 'Holidays help create memories with your family and friends. It helps you de-stress.'

However, Madam Lim did say that she would cut back on luxuries such as restaurant meals and shopping.

Madam Wong Bee Ling, 50, an accountant, shared her view. She was spotted last week at SA Tours making a full payment for a seven-day trip to Hokkaido, Japan.

The holiday for her extended family of nine - including her husband, 50, a managing director, her children and her sister's family - amounted to about $24,000.

Madam Wong had made her booking earlier in September. But even if she had known that things were not going to look up for the global economy, she said she would have proceeded anyway.

The mother of three daughters said: 'I would not have changed my mind because I wouldn't want to disappoint my kids. Also, I usually don't spend much on daily expenses, so I'm willing to spend a bit more on travel.'

Customers like her keep the registers of travel agencies ringing.

Agencies such as SA Tours and Chan Brothers Travel say that demand for year-end holiday packages have not dropped compared to last year.

Miss Lim from SA Tours says this is because of attractive currency exchange rates and because Singaporeans enjoy pampering themselves.

Ms Chang of Chan Brothers Travel observed: 'Even if people start to take a more cautionary approach to spending, they will still travel as they have already set aside a budget for that.'

However, she added that the agency was prepared to see a slowdown in booking momentum as Singaporeans 'gradually feel the economic impact and spend cautiously'.

For agencies such as CTC Holidays and UOB Travel Planners, they have even seen a spike in customers.

Ms Seah of CTC Holidays noted that there was an increase in the number of travellers this year compared to last year. She said: 'Travel within Asia, in general, is much stronger than to further destinations such as USA and Europe.'

She noted that travel within Asia has jumped by as much as 20%, while bookings to Europe and the US have seen more moderate growth of 7%.

She said the interest in Asia was likely due to travellers looking for more value-for-money packages.

Miss Eileen Oh from UOB Travel Planners also reported that there was an overall increase by about 20% in the number of bookings as compared to the previous year.

However, she also noted that the bulk of the year-end packages - over 70% - were snapped up before September, before the financial crisis went into overdrive.

For those who are thinking of spending less but still want to travel, it can still be done, but Miss Lim from SA Tours advises that they look out for hidden costs.

'Ensure that you are getting the most value for the price you pay, and not pay a cheaper rate but end up paying more for add-ons,' she said.

Ms Chang from Chan Brothers said: 'Frankly, no matter your budget, there will always be travel options available to you.'