Key insights:
- Luxury travellers are twice as likely to plan international holidays, with 52% of Indonesians and 44% of Thais in the high-spending segment intending to travel abroad versus just 25-26% of budget travellers.
- Luxury travel in Indonesia and Thailand skews younger and higher income, with over 40% of luxury travellers aged 18-34 and far greater representation in top income brackets.
- Domestic travel remains dominant across budgets, as around three in four Indonesians and Thais plan local holidays regardless of whether they are luxury or budget travellers.
- Holiday planning behaviour differs sharply by spend, with up to half of luxury travellers using official destination marketing organisations compared with only 15-18% of budget travellers.
- Advertising channel effectiveness splits by traveller type, as over half of luxury travellers notice billboards, while nearly two-thirds of budget travellers say social media ads capture their attention.
Major brands in Southeast Asia’s travel sector have traditionally activated event-led campaigns around moments such as Lunar New Year, Ramadan and regional school holidays.
Singapore Airlines ran festive and seasonal promotions in previous years, while AirAsia regularly launched holiday-period sales across ASEAN.
As brands prepare their 2026 plans during this year-end window, YouGov’s Global Travel Profiles and DestinationIndex reveal distinct patterns in the destination choices, planning behaviour, booking pathways and advertising receptiveness of Indonesians and Thais planning a holiday within the next 12 months.
The analysis focuses on two specific groups: luxury travellers (those who fly business or first class and stay in five-star accommodation) and budget travellers (those who set a budget and aim not to exceed it). The data demonstrates that these represent notably different audiences for brands to reach.
Who luxury and budget travellers are
- Indonesia: Luxury travellers are the younger of the two groups, with 40% aged 18-24 and 39% aged 25-34 compared with 33% and 36% of budget travellers. The five-star group is also more likely to be male (62% vs. 54%), in higher-income groups (27% vs. 15%). In comparison, those on a middle income are more likely to be in the economy group (49% vs. 39%).
- Thailand: It is a similar story among Thais, where luxury travellers also lean younger (42% being in the 25-34 age group compared to 31% of budget travellers) be men (58% vs. 47%), and belongs to a higher-income group (36% vs. 22%). As with Indonesia, Indonesia, those in the economy group are also more likely to be in middle-income brackets (58% vs. 48%).
Holiday intent
Holiday intent runs strong across both segments, though international travel appetites differ markedly by spending profile. In Indonesia, the higher spending group show twice the international intent of their budget counterparts (52% vs. 26%), whilst domestic plans remain comparable between the two (72% vs. 70%). Thailand follows a similar pattern, with luxury travellers leading on international holidays (44% versus 25%), though both groups display equally robust domestic travel intentions (75% versus 76%).
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