Scott Dunn’s recent annual year-end guest survey reveals that appetite for international travel has returned among the luxury and ultra-high net worth travellers in Asia, although a notable portion remains somewhat cautious.

While 46% say they cannot wait to get on a plane and go abroad, 31% prefer to take a more measured approach to travel, remaining cautious about potential travel disruptions in the new year. On top of that, 19% also wish to venture out, but not too far from home, reflecting a somewhat measured approach.

Many travellers are also tired of pandemic-related travel restrictions and are looking forward to their long-awaited freedom to travel. All respondents (100%) said that they will take at least one trip next year, an 87% increase from 2022 – 71% are looking to take a minimum of two trips next year, while 22% wish to travel four or more times in 2023.

An emerging trend among the luxury guest segment serviced by Scott Dunn is slow travel – the highest preference among guests would be to take a one- to a two-week vacation in a single destination, highlighting their preference to fully explore and discover a location.

The top three things that luxury travel segment guests are looking for while on holiday are cultural experiences, food and drink, and experiencing local life and people. This reflects a desire to truly connect with and discover the destinations that they are visiting, rather than visiting as a more traditional and disconnected tourist.

Discovering a new destination took the top spot as a reason to venture out in 2023, followed by ticking off bucket list destinations in second place, and rediscovering favourite places in third. In contrast, ticking off bucket list destinations only came in fifth last year, behind rediscovering favourite places, signifying that more luxury travellers are truly looking to travel out of their comfort zone and visit new, unexplored places.

The survey involved 4,000 guests based in Asia.