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Figure 1:12
Purpose of Visit for Selected Countries

1.5.2

Travel Party

The majority of travellers from emerging markets,

either travel in an organised group or with at least
one other individual (usually a spouse or child).
(Group refers to organised tour groups, whilst
other refers to travel with another party).
It is the regulated norm for Chinese outbound
travellers taking a holiday abroad to travel in an
organised group. The government of China has
mandated that Chinese travellers travel in an
organised group of no less than five individuals.
This is the case for both business and leisure
travel. The importance of travel agents and tour
operators is critical here. In other markets very
few outbound travellers travel alone and a large
portion of those travelling alone travel for
business purposes.

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Chinese must travel in an

organised group of at least
five travellers

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Figure 1:13
Travel Party Composition of Selected Countries

While travellers from emerging markets mainly

travel in a group or with at least one other person,
the percentage of those travelling alone far
exceeds that of traditional markets. In Germany
for example (perhaps the most mature and
experienced travel market), only 13% of travellers
travel alone. This shows that emerging market
travellers are independent and not afraid to go on
a trip alone. Additionally, limited income levels
might restrict the family from travelling together
and therefore only one person could afford to
travel at any given time.

Emerging markets also

have their share of
independent travellers

Travel Party
Traditional Markets

Emerging Markets

Group travel

Group travel also

Independent travel

Not afraid to travel alone

1.5.3

Length of Stay

For the majority of emerging markets, the average

length of stay is relatively lower than some
traditional markets. In Germany the average
length of stay is in excess of two weeks, while for
most of the emerging markets it is less than two
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Shorter length of stay in

emerging markets than
traditional markets

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weeks, with the exception of Brazil and South

Africa.
For the Czech Republic and Hungary, almost half
(51% and 48% respectively) of outbound
travellers stay away for an average of 1-3 nights.
In China over one third of the outbound travellers
stay away between 4 days and one week, only a
small percentage stay away for two weeks and
over.
Paid leave affects the
duration of a trip

These short trips can be explained by shorter paid

leave in these markets. Germans receive up to 6
weeks of paid vacation, whilst workers in the
Czech Republic for instance, get an average
annual paid leave of 20 days, 26 days in Poland
and 21 days in Romania, just to name a few.
Other markets like Hungary, Moldova where paid
vacation is as high as 8 weeks, the reason for such
short trips can be linked to income levels. Longer
trips require greater expenditure. Additionally,
there is a trend towards taking short, city breaks
not too dissimilar to the traditional markets.
Many of these markets, primarily in Eastern
Europe have the luxury of Low Cost Carriers to
facilitate short trips that are convenient and
affordable.
Length of Stay
Traditional Markets

From longer to shorter trips
1.5.4

Emerging Markets

From shorter to longer trips

Seasonality

For the majority of the emerging outbound

markets, the summer months are the main months
in which people take a trip abroad.

Emerging market travellers

take holiday mainly in
summer months

Over one third of all trips from Hungary, Poland,

China, Brazil and Russia take place between the
months of July and September. India is also
popular during the summer period. This can
easily be explained by the warm weather common
to all northern destinations. The fact that school

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is on break during this period is another boost for

travel during this season. This is even more the
case for traditional markets. Almost two thirds of
German travellers travel during this same period,
almost double that of most emerging markets.
1.5.5

Accommodation Type

With the exception of Brazil, China and India,

most emerging market travellers stay at
friends/family when on vacation. Over half of
South African (56%) and Polish (54%) travellers
abroad stay with friends/family. Two thirds of
outbound travellers from Russia (34%), Czech
Republic (34%) and Brazil 32% and one quarter
of Hungarian and Chinese travellers stay with
friends and family when on holiday abroad.

Staying with friends or

relatives very popular

Almost one fifth of outbound travellers from the

Czech Republic, Poland and Russia, one quarter
from South Africa and one third from Hungary
stay at hotels. This is quite low when compared
with Germany, where 58% of travellers stay at a
hotel. Brazil and China however, measure up to
their more mature counterpart with each also
having 58% of their outbound travellers staying at
a hotel.
The low use of hotel accommodation among
emerging market travellers can be explained by
the high number of family members living
abroad. This is also why VFR is high among
these travellers.
Additionally, low income levels force travellers to
choose cheap accommodation options and staying
with a relative or friend is certainly cheaper than
staying at a hotel.

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Figure 1:14
Accommodation Type of Selected Countries

1.5.6

Travel Decisions

The majority of emerging market outbound

travellers make their travel decision one to three
months before the departure of their trip. Fortysix percent of Chinese travellers make their
decision one to three months in advance, followed
by Brazil (40%), Hungary (34%), Russia (33%)
and Poland (30%). Booking holidays three
months or more is also quite common as an
average of one third of emerging-market
travellers book in this fashion. The leader in this
regard is Hungary (38%), followed by Brazil
(37%), Russia (33%), Poland (31%) and China
(28%).

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Travel and Tourisms Top Ten Emerging Markets