SINGAPORE, 22 November 2022: Expedia has unveiled 2023 travel trends across Expedia and the broader travel industry sourced from the company’s first-party data and research of thousands of travellers and industry professionals across 17 countries.
The trends prove there will be no “one-size-fits-all” travel in 2023. Instead, these trends point to a year defined by the “no-normal.”
“When we look at Expedia data, we see a detailed and robust picture of travel into 2023,” said Expedia Brands president Jon Gieselman
“We’re seeing a surge in trips to culture capitals and TV shows playing a role in tourism — not a new normal but people branching out to unexpected trends in what we’re calling the ‘no normal.”
Unexpected Travel Trends in 2023
Set-Jetters
Booking a trip after binging a popular new series will become serious business in 2023. Expedia research confirms that streaming movies and TV shows have influenced Singaporeans’ travel decision-making, with 35% admitting that the influence had increased in the last 12 months.
Nearly one in four (23%) say that watching a series or movie is most likely to pique their interest in travelling to that destination – more than social media influencers (16%).
In Singapore, more than three-quarters (76%) of travellers considered visiting a destination after seeing it on a show or movie on a streaming platform, and one in two made a booking.
Shows or movies set in outdoor destinations with mind-blowing landscapes (41%) and beach destinations (40%) were found to impact Singaporeans’ travel destination decisions the most.
Japan (40%) and South Korea (39%) are the top two destinations Singaporeans consider visiting with the influence of popular Asian series and movies featured in the scenic destinations.
Culture Capitals
National parks and rural retreats had big moments in the past two years. Now, it’s time for cities to see a comeback. Based on traveller demand, most destinations seeing the largest increases are all culture-rich cities where art and culture festivities are getting back to full swing.
Top city choices
Edinburgh, Scotland
Lisbon, Portugal
Tokyo, Japan
Dublin, Ireland
New York, USA
Sydney, Australia
Dubai, UAE
Montreal, Canada
Munich, Germany
Bangkok, Thailand
With Singapore travellers drawing inspiration from their favourite streamed content, culture capitals that feature the backdrop of popular streamed TV shows and movies top the list of popular destinations Singaporeans are looking towards for travel in 2023.
Top 10 Popular Destinations for Travel in 2023
Bangkok, Thailand
Tokyo, Japan
Seoul, South Korea
Bali, Indonesia
Maldives
Hokkaido, Japan
Phuket, Thailand
London, United Kingdom
Paris, France
Johor, Malaysia
For travellers looking beyond the small screens for inspiration, consider the following trending destinations for travel in 2023:
Top 10 Trending Destinations for Singapore Travellers
Danang, Vietnam
Pahang, Malaysia
Lucerne, Switzerland
Langkawi, Malaysia
Brisbane, Australia
Perth, Australia
Hanoi, Vietnam
Krabi, Thailand
Busan, South Korea
Jeju Island, South Korea
For the full industry report on insights and actions for travel partners, download the Traveller Value Index 2023.
For the full consumer report on The No-Normal; Unexpected Travel Trends in 2023, visit here.
