Travelers pampering themselves with more upscale stays to ring in the New Year

After almost a year of restricted travel, travelers are indulging in more high-end stays this New Year’s Eve. According to booking data from digital travel platform Agoda, 4 to 5-star hotels are the accommodation of choice to ring in 2021 globally, pushing 1 to 3.5-star hotels down to second place this year, as compared to New Year’s Eve 2019.

With the exception of Taiwan, Thailand and the United States (US) which favored 1 to 3.5-star hotels as their preference, travelers from the other markets are aligned with the global trend. Korean and Singaporean travelers have maintained their desire for 4 to 5-star hotels as the top choice this New Year’s Eve.

This year, travelers are also looking to get away from it all to explore more diverse destinations than in 2019. Beach destinations and coastal cities like Miami Beach (US), Langkawi (Malaysia), Quy Nhon (Vietnam), Yeosu-si (Korea), as well as places known for their natural beauty such as Cameron Highlands (Malaysia), Hua Lien (Taiwan), Laguna (Philippines) and Sapa (Vietnam) climbed the ranks to top 10 domestic destinations in respective markets for staycations this New Year’s Eve.

“While 2020 might have upended many travelers’ plans, Agoda’s data that 4 to 5-star hotels are most popular among New Year’s Eve bookings this year shows us that there’s great desire among travelers to pamper themselves and optimistically usher in the New Year in style. We are heartened that travelers are not letting the pandemic dampen their travel spirits, and are also spending the New Year exploring domestic destinations less traveled, supporting local tourism communities in those areas,” said Errol Cooke, Vice President of Partner Services at Agoda.

New Year’s Eve by market

Indonesia

• Compared to 2019, travelers from Indonesia are booking 4 to 5-star hotels as their preference this year, nudging 1 to 3.5-stars hotels to second spot.
• Indonesians are also going to the unexplored beaches of Makassar and beautiful botanical gardens of West Java’s Bogor, while Batam and Tangerang slip out of the top 10 domestic destinations this New Year’s Eve.

Top 10 Domestic Destinations

Malaysia

• Compared to 2019, Malaysian travelers are booking 4 to 5-star hotels as their preference this year, nudging 1 to 3.5-stars hotels to second spot.
• The 99 islands of Langkawi and Cameron Highlands, famous for its relaxing atmosphere, tea plantations and strawberry farms beat Ipoh and Johor Bahru into this year’s top ten domestic destinations

Top 10 Domestic Destinations

The Philippines

• Compared to 2019, Pinoy travelers are indulging in 4 to 5-star hotels as their preference this year, nudging 1 to 3.5-stars hotels to second spot.
• Famous for its lakes and beautiful mountains, Laguna has made it to the top 10 domestic list this year, along with the beaches of Batangas.

Top 10 Domestic Destinations

South Korea

• Like in 2019, for South Korean travelers, 4 to 5-star hotels topped their accommodation preferences followed by 1 to 3.5-star hotels and finally non-hotel accommodation.
• While Seoul, Jeju Island and Busan continue to take the top three spots, Korean travelers are also exploring new places: Pohang-si, where they can view fireworks at The Hands of Harmony attraction, as well as the coastal city of Yeosu-Si.

Top 10 Domestic Destinations

Taiwan

• Taiwanese travelers are staying at 1 to 3.5-star hotels, followed by 4 to 5-star hotels and non-hotel accommodation, similar to their preferences in 2019.
• Hualien, known for the famous Taroko Gorge, has knocked Hsinchu out of the top 10 ranks.

Top 10 Domestic Destinations

Thailand

• Thai travelers are staying at 1 to 3.5-star hotels, followed by 4 to 5-star hotels and non-hotel accommodation, similar to their preferences in 2019.
• Bangkok, beach town Pattaya and Chiang Mai with ancient temples and picturesque mountains continue to dominate Thai travelers’ domestic list. Notably Kanchanaburi, Krabi and Phuket have each moved up to two spots this year.

Top 10 Domestic Destinations

United Kingdom (UK)

• Travelers from the UK are staying at 4 to 5-star hotels to ring in the New Year this year, unlike in 2019 where 1 to 3.5-stars hotels took the top spot.
• Belfast, Capital city of Northern Ireland and enchanting spa town Harrogate found their way into this year’s top 10 domestic destinations for New Year’s Eve, knocking Chester and York off the list. Edinburgh, host of the world’s most famous Hogmanay celebrations, skips back to 2^nd spot, after London.

Top 10 Domestic Destinations

United States

• Unlike global travelers, US travelers maintained their preference for 1 to 3.5-star hotels this year. Like in 2019, 4 to 5-stars hotels retained second place, followed by non-hotel accommodation.
• Miami Beach and Music City Nashville are attracting US travelers this year-end, moving popular cities Houston and San Francisco off the list.
• Las Vegas continues to hold top spot.

Top 10 Domestic Destinations

Vietnam

• Compared to 2019, travelers in Vietnam are indulging in 4 to 5-star hotels as their preference this year, nudging 1 to 3.5-stars hotels to second spot.
• Vietnamese travelers are escaping to cooler destinations this year – charming Sapa makes it to top 10 this New Year’s Eve at #7, while Dalat, elevated 1,500 meters above sea level, finds its way to #2.

Top 10 Domestic Destinations

Agoda booking data was collated on 10 December 2020 for NYE bookings in 2019, 2020.  4 to 5-star hotel bookings saw an increase of 13 percentage points as compared to 2019.

Image by nickgesell from Pixabay