Depressed, working too hard, but people in Hong Kong and Singapore are taking more short-haul trips
- The travel industry wants to cash in on the rise of short-haul travellers in Asia. One company has launched a new campaign around the ‘Holiday Quickie’
- According to Skyscanner, three out of 10 Singaporeans and one out of 10 Hongkongers take seven or more trips a year
Budget airline AirAsia has launched a cheeky campaign based on the idea of the “Holiday Quickie”. It sounds a little risqué, but the branding team insist that it is based on an important issue: to encourage Singaporeans to take their work-life balance seriously.
“We looked at the Singapore market and noticed that people in Singapore are always looking for a break,” says AirAsia’s group head of branding Rudy Khaw. “Singapore is an island, so if you want to get away you can jump on a plane. The campaign is an opportunity to show people that they can go for a quick getaway, a holiday quickie.”
Khaw says that the boom in the low-cost travel industry since 2001 means that people tend to travel more regularly.
“This is especially true of the younger market. They take more trips whenever they want, but there are quick getaway opportunities for everyone and the Southeast Asia region offers great diversity,” says Khaw, adding that Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Phuket, Bangkok and Indonesia are among the most popular short-haul destinations from Singapore.
The campaign will run for three months as film advertisements as well as promotions on AirAsia’s site and app and on digital and social media.
Although the campaign targets Singaporeans, Khaw says it could equally apply to Hong Kong – another island city that has no domestic travel to speak of and where hopping on a plane for a weekend break is a viable option.