Singapore residents are willing to spend more on staycations and also go on staycations more frequently, according to a survey conducted by the Singapore Management University's Institute of Service Excellence.
Sixty-three per cent of the 450 participants surveyed said they would maintain or increase the frequency of staycations, while 71 per cent said they would spend the same amount or more.
This is in spite of the concerns some of them had about the cost, as well as how some hotels are used as quarantine facilities.
The findings were released yesterday together with the Q3 Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore results for the food and beverage (F&B) and tourism sectors.
For the index, 2,500 residents were surveyed between July and September. Researchers found that more than three in five restaurant customers are ordering more takeaway or food delivery because of the Covid-19 situation.
This bodes well for those who expanded their operating models to include takeaway and delivery, said the head of research and consulting at the Institute of Service Excellence, Mr Chen Yongchang.
"This is especially critical for operators who have traditionally targeted the office and tourist crowd, where demand has reduced significantly," he added.
Customers are not only ordering food delivery in droves, they are more loyal to restaurants when they do so. Restaurant customers who opted for food delivery scored 73.8 points for their loyalty, while those who ordered takeaway scored 73.1 points.
In contrast, restaurant customers who dined in recorded a score of 68.9 points.
This is the first time the study has gone online to collect data on the F&B and tourism sectors.
Data from previous years was collected from participants face to face, so the results cannot be directly compared with this year's.
Hotels, which formed a sub-sector under tourism in previous years, were not studied this year as tourist responses could not be captured because of the Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Instead, local attractions such as the Singapore Zoo, Gardens by the Bay and Universal Studios Singapore were featured.
Researchers studied the factors that would prompt customers to make a repeat visit to an attraction they had visited recently.
Satisfaction with F&B options as well as the range of activities and exhibits at the attractions were the most important factors influencing customer loyalty.
