3 in 10 S'poreans plan to travel abroad this year, survey shows

Nearly three in 10 here are planning to travel overseas this year even if the current global Covid-19 situation remains the same, despite the international resurgence of coronavirus cases and changing travel restrictions as the Omicron variant sweeps the globe.

This was one of the findings of an online survey of 1,000 respondents commissioned by The Straits Times and conducted by market research firm Milieu Insight from Jan 6 to 10.

The respondents, who are all Singaporeans, are representative of the Singaporean population aged 16 and above by age and sex.

Of the 28 per cent who said they intend to travel this year, one-fifth had already travelled for leisure since the start of the pandemic.

Ms Joy Wang, 29, told ST that she travelled between September and November last year, visiting places such as Canada, London and Switzerland.

"I always had a goal of travelling to at least 10 new countries each year, so it was difficult for me not to be jetting off every month after the pandemic hit," said Ms Wang.

The part-time yoga instructor said that while there are more checks and regulations to be aware of when travelling now, she felt that the destinations make them all worthwhile.

"I feel that at some point, I may get the virus within or outside of Singapore, so I would rather lean into the situation now than live in fear avoiding it," added Ms Wang.

A higher proportion of respondents aged 25 to 34 - 43 per cent - said they intend to travel this year, compared with 35 per cent of those aged 16 to 24, 25 per cent of those in the 35-44 age group, 20 per cent of those aged 45 to 54, and 18 per cent of those 55 and older.

Ms Nicole Tow has booked tickets to travel to Paris in March for a month. The 31-year-old assistant manager used to travel for leisure two to three times a year before the pandemic and has not travelled since it began.

She intends to go with a group of friends but said that half of them have changed their minds with the worsening Covid-19 situation across the globe.

"We (the remaining group of friends) are aware of the risks and extra costs if we do get infected with Covid-19 but feel it is still worth it to travel," said Ms Tow.

Ms Dorothy Sim, 28, and Mr Kenneth Ler, 29, left Singapore on Jan 5 for Los Angeles and Colorado for their belated honeymoon and will return on Friday. They got married in November 2020.

Mr Ler said: "It feels great and amazing to be able to experience other cities and cultures again… We are willing to travel because we are young and have been vaccinated."

The couple managed to book their flight when the Vaccinated Travel Lane scheme opened on Oct 19 for the United States last year.

Ms Sim said: "Complying with the myriad of Covid-19 testing requirements is definitely a headache, and there is always the worry of whether one will test positive in the next test… But we try to be vigilant as much as possible while having fun."