Lee Shu Shien
NATAS Travel Fair held last month saw a decrease in the number of fair-goers. Data also shows that Europe continues to be Singaporean’s most preferred travel destination.
Accounting for 23% of total sales, Europe once again emerged as our hottest favourite by a large margin ahead of South Korea and Japan. Specifically, it is reported that Italy took the lead in booking purchases for the region while Finland, on a surprising note, trailed close behind and arrived second on the list.
Recent trends also suggest that Singaporean travellers are gradually shifting their interests from traditionally popular travel spots in Europe to more exotic ones including the likes of Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Romania.
Cruise packages made their first appearance on the list of top 10 destinations this year, with a double-fold leap recorded in some sales bookings. The appeal of regional cruise trips remains striking, and is increasingly drawing wider demographics. Long haul fly-cruise packages and niches such as river cruises are also starting to pique the attention of seasoned travellers.
However, the three-day event saw an approximate 10% dip in its visitor number from 62,744 to 56,189. Furthermore, under NATAS’ new sales tracking system, total sales were reported to be some $45 million this year, a drastic decrease from last year’s performance of $98 million.
Even though the fair has ended, don’t miss out on the extended promotions from NATAS Travel Fair 2014. You can also check out other travel packages on TripZilla, your one-stop travel search portal with thousands of deals provided by travel agencies!
Image credits: http://on.fb.me/1uBu6aT
