The kindest travellers in APAC: Singaporeans rank fourth, after Aus, NZ, India

Brand Expedia's 2019 Global Flight & Hotel Etiquette Study finds that the kindest travellers in Asia Pacific are those coming from Australia, New Zealand, and India, making Singaporeans the fourth kindest travellers in the region.

Based on a survey of over 18,000 adult travellers in 23 markets globally, including 600 adults in Singapore, it was found that helping someone with their luggage was the most common act of kindness by Singaporean travellers on a flight, with two in five locals having done so at least once before.

Among the other acts of kindness, three in 10 (32%) Singapore travellers have offered to switch seats with another passenger so that his/her travel companion can sit together, and one in five (20%) have shared travel tips and recommendations with a stranger on a flight.

Here’s the full ranking of APAC travellers on kindness*:

1. Australia (50%)
2. New Zealand (46%)
3. India (44%)
4. Singapore (42%)
5. Thailand (40%)
6. Malaysia (39%)
7. Taiwan (39%)
8. Hong Kong (33%)
9. South Korea (31%)
10. Japan (24%)

*The percentage signifies the number of travellers that said that they have helped someone with their luggage in a flight – the most commonly-practiced act of kindness in flights. 

Lavinia Rajaram, Head of Regional Communications, Asia Pacific, Brand Expedia, commented on the findings: "Often we are so caught up with the joys or stress of travelling that we forget how big an impact a simple act of kindness can make for those around us," adding that the survey offers insights into how all of us can play a role to inspire kindness on our travels.

Flight etiquette: The three characteristics of Singapore travellers

1. Drunk passengers and seat-kickers are the most annoying type of travellers for Singaporeans – Two in five (41%) of Singaporeans find drunk passengers and seat-kickers the most annoying type of travellers on a flight, followed by germ spreaders (37%) and inattentive parents (26%). When Singaporeans observe that a fellow passenger is being rude to another, half would ask a flight attendant to come and deal with the situation.

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2. Smelly, coughing and sneezing inflight neighbours generally avoided by Singaporeans – Singaporeans generally have a low tolerance and close to six in 10 (59%) would politely request the flight attendant for a change of seat in such cases. A total of 43% would offer the affected seatmate tissues or cough drops, while 31% would put something over their mouth or nose to protect themselves.

3. Singaporeans tend to take a hands-off approach with a crying baby on a flight – Half of the local travellers who encounter a crying baby expect the parent to try to entertain the baby. More than one-third expect the parent to apologise to those around them for the noise (38%), or expect the parent to get up and walk the baby up and down the aisle (34%).

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Among some of the other interesting findings, it turns out a majority of Singaporeans prefer aisle seats on flights (53%), compared to 43% who prefer window seats, and the 5% who preferred middle seats. The reasons for this preference is mainly for easy access to the bathroom (74%), freedom of mobility (69%), and so that they will not disturb others (66%).

Meanwhile, when booking a hotel, 95% said that complimentary Wi-Fi is the most important factor when booking a hotel. This came at no surprise as Singaporeans emerged as the most Wi-Fi obsessed travellers in Asia in the previous edition of the survey.

Photo / 123RF