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Partying from dusk till dawn at the Minstry of Sound
ZUJI's Online Travel Report for the last quarter of 2006 showed that consistently around one-fifth of travellers book their international flights within seven days of travel. Of that group, one percent book the flight the day before travel. Many book at least two days ahead of the flight.
The report, which looks at online booking trends in Asian markets, noted however that while the trend towards last minute bookings remained consistent, the company was seeing Hong Kong and Singapore travellers allowing a few days more lead time than they used to when it comes to booking lead times for international flights.
Soaking up the scents and sounds in ethic enclaves like Kampung Glam
In Q1 2006, 24% of Hong Kong travellers, and 27% of Singapore travellers booked international flights within seven days of travel. In Q4 2006, 24% of Hong Kong, and 22% of Singapore travellers booked within seven days of taking the international flight, according to the report.
Different country, different habits
Consumer patterns vary by country, noted ZUJI.
"Some people prefer to book flights with very long lead time times. 58% of Australians book flights more than a month in advance of travel. On average, 42% of travellers across Asia Pacific book their trip more than a month ahead of travel,” said a ZUJI spokesperson.
The report also showed that hotel bookings were being made online with longer lead times.
In Q1 2006, 37% of hotel bookings on ZUJI were made in the same week as the person checked-in. By end 2006, 31% of hotel bookings were made in the same week as check-in.
Travellers from Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan consistently book hotels with the shortest lead times while Australian and New Zealand travellers prefer longer booking lead times.
Picture perfect moments to take home of the Singapore River
In 2006, more than 10% of Australian travellers booked their hotels online more than three months ahead of check in. Less than 5% of Hong Kong, Korean, Singaporean and Taiwanese travellers booked with this much lead time.
The spokesperson noted: "This extension of booking lead time for hotels is quite a significant trend change, as there has been an historic pattern of ‘waiting until the last minute' to grab a great hotel deal.
"Now the tide is turning on this trend as travellers realise waiting can mean missing out on their preferred hotel, and that they can find great deals with short and long booking lead times.”
Ultimately, suppliers like ZUJI know that deals help drive bookings and if they offer deals that are longer lead in nature, then it can help reverse the tide of last minute bookings, albeit slowly.
