Malaysia to record highest outbound travel ratio by 2021 in Asia-Pacific region
SINGAPORE: Malaysia is expected to record the highest ratio in outbound travel in relation to the total number of households with 198.7 per cent by 2021 from 178.4 per cent in 2016.
A recent Future of Outbound Travel in Asia-acific (2016 to 2021) report by Mastercard revealed that Malaysia is the highest among emerging markets and fourth highest after Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
International outbound travel trips by Malaysians were 11.9 million in 2016 and are expected to grow by an average of 3.5 per cent per year to reach 14.2 million trips by 2021.
“About 46.1 per cent of outbound trips are by Malaysian households earning above US$30,000 (US$1 = RM4.43) per annum in 2016, an income range that accounts for 24.4 per cent of all households.
“This put the concentration ratio at 1.9, second lowest among higher income households of emerging markets after Thailand at 1.8,” the report said.
Meanwhile, outbound travellers from emerging AsiaPacific countries currently outnumbered those from developed Asia-Pacific countries by one-and-a-half times.
The figure is poised to grow more than twice over the next five years, 7.6 per cent versus 3.3 per cent of Cumulative Annual Growth Rate.
The report said Asia- Pacific markets are expected to grow by six per cent annually from 2016 to 2021.
“Not surprisingly, the largest outbound travel market in 2021 is expected to be China with 103.4 million trips, constituting 40 per cent of all Asia-Pacific outbound travel.
“It is nearly four times that of South Korea with 25.6 million and India with 21.5 million,” the report said.
Forecast international outbound trips from the top 10 Asia- Pacific markets by 2021, include Japan 19.4 million ( fourth), Taiwan 16.3 million (fifth) and Malaysia 14.2 million (sixth). — Bernama