Just how much are you willing to splurge on a holiday abroad? For us Singaporeans, it seems the cap’s pretty darn high; A new study published in June 2024 has just revealed that Singaporeans are the world’s third largest spenders for international vacations, with each individual forking out an average of USD2,966 – roughly $3,988 in Singapore dollars – per trip.
Given Singapore's high cost of living and the fact that it's the world's most expensive city, this news might seem ironic at first glance to outsiders. But to us locals, it's not entirely surprising; After all, it has recently been found that Singapore is the country with the most searches for travel, proving that we Lion City dwellers are often dreaming of our next getaway. With things being pretty fast-paced in this tiny but busy city, going on vacations is likely a much-needed form of escapism for many of us, so when we do get the chance to sneak away on a trip, we tend to go all out to pamper ourselves and make the experience fully worthwhile.
The country that splashes the most cash on overseas vacations globally is Australia, with the average spend by our friends Down Under being USD3,078 (roughly S$4138) per person per trip. Next on the list is South Korea in second place (USD3,040 or roughly S$4087), followed by Singapore ranking third in the world.
The above figures take into account spending on tours, attractions, dining, shopping, and the like – everything that makes for a solid getaway.
Top 10 countries in the world that spend the most on holidays overseas:
- Australia – USD3,078 or S$4138
- South Korea – USD3,040 or S$4087
- Singapore – USD2,966 or S$3988
- Iceland – USD2,470 or S$3321
- Portugal – USD 2,166 or S$2912
- Taiwan – USD2,096 or S$2818
- Norway – USD1,971 or S$2650
- Indonesia – USD1,861 or S$2502
- Brazil – USD1,719 or S$2311
- China – USD1,647 or S$2214
Top 10 countries in Asia with the highest average holiday expenditure:
- South Korea – USD3,040 or S$4,087
- Singapore – USD2,966 or S$3,988
- Taiwan – USD2,096 or S$2,818
- Indonesia – USD1,861 or S$2,502
- China – USD1,647 or S$2,214
- Japan – USD1,308 or S$1,759
- Iran – USD1,200 or S$1,613
- India – USD1,198 or S$1,611
- Thailand – USD1,183 or S$1,591
- Bahrain – USD1,110 or S$1,492
This study was carried out by Merchant Machine, using data from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) with regards to total outbound expenditure per country divided by its total departure. 94 countries’ data was analysed during the process. View the full report here.
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