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Malaysians favour domestic air travel
October 4th 2021
The majority of Malaysian air travellers expect to stick close to home as they dust off their travel plans over the next 12 months. Read More » A new survey conducted on behalf of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) by NielsenIQ found 60% of the 1,000 respondents were looking forward to travelling domestically. Among the reasons cited for their preference for domestic travel were the lower cost of travel, high risk of exposure to COVID-19 when travelling internationally and worries by respondents who were living with high-risk family members. Of the four out of 10 respondents who expressed a preference for international travel, 72% were considering destinations within Asia with the top three countries listed as Japan, China and South Korea. The survey also highlighted expectations key travel touch points within airports needed to be redesigned to incorporate crowd control and physical distancing measures, routine sanitisation and contactless facilities. Consumers also expect digital technologies such as paperless travel documents, e-payment facilities and the enforcement of key COVID-19 procedures. “While Malaysian travellers are still cautious of the evolving circumstances related to the pandemic and are wary of contracting COVID-19, the outcome of this survey indicates that Malaysians are looking forward to resuming air travel in both domestic and international sectors,” said MAVCOM executive chairman, Saripuddin Kasim. “With the findings of this study, the Commission hopes the relevant industry players will continue with their efforts to be vigilant and make appropriate improvements at key travel touchpoints to further strengthen public confidence towards air travel as we move further into the reopening of our skies.” Those taking part in the survey had travelled at least once in the prior 12 months and planned to travel in the next year.
