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%).

Where they plan to go

For both groups in Indonesia, the most frequently selected destination is Bali, making domestic travel the leading choice across each segment. Japan follows as the top international option, with the higher spending group selecting it slightly more often than budget travellers.

In Thailand, similar proportions of both budget and luxury travellers choose Japan as their favoured international destination (19% and 20% respectively). However, there is a greater difference in terms of wanting to keep things local. While 31% of the more economical group are thinking of staying in Thailand, this number falls to 19% among luxury travellers.

How they plan their holidays

In Indonesia, luxury travellers are more likely to use destination marketing organisations (DMOs) when planning a holiday (50% vs. 18% of budget travellers). The budget group relies more on social media (55% vs. 46%) and information from friends or family (51% vs. 32%).

In Thailand, both groups turn to social media (49% luxury; 53% budget). However, the higher spending group is more likely to use DMOs (46% vs. 15%), while budget travellers are more likely to use travel blogs (49% vs. 38%) and information from friends and family (42% vs. 29%).

How they book accommodation

Both groups frequently use online travel agencies (OTAs) and online accommodation websites, but the five-star group show a stronger tendency to book directly with hotels or through intermediaries such as tour operators and offline travel agencies.

In Indonesia, 33% of luxury travellers book directly on a hotel website compared with 21% of economical travellers. This group is also more likely to use tour operators (27% vs. 11%) and offline agencies (26% vs. 17%).

In Thailand, 35% of higher-spending segment book directly with hotels (vs. 26% budget), and 29% use tour operators (vs. 12%). Budget travellers rely more consistently on OTAs and accommodation platforms.

Their preferred advertising formats 

In Indonesia, luxury travellers are more responsive to offline formats, with 50% selecting billboards and 36% selecting cinema. Budget conscious group shows a stronger response to digital channels: 66% say social media advertising would catch their attention, and higher shares also select online streaming services, travel websites and free-to-air TV.

The pattern is similar in Thailand. Billboards stand out among the higher-spending group (54% vs. 29% of budget travellers), while their budget conterparts overwhelmingly favour social media (65% vs. 34%). Travel websites also feature more strongly among economical travellers.

What this means for brands

There are clear differences between luxury and budget travellers in Indonesia and Thailand which points towards brands taking a more segmented approach to travel marketing. The higher-spending segment engages most with curated content and premium channels, whereas budget conscious group filter choices through social networks, digital platforms and price-led tools. Brands that tailor their messaging and media to these distinct behaviours may be better positioned to convert strong travel intent into real bookings.

Methodology: 

YouGov Global Profiles is a globally consistent audience dataset with 1,000+ questions across 48+ markets. Figures are based on continuously collected data through rolling surveys, updated weekly across a 52-week dataset. Data is drawn from adults aged 18+ using an online representative sample of minimum 1,000 respondents from Indonesia and Thailand.

YouGov DestinationIndex is a daily brand tracking tool that measures perceptions of travel destinations across multiple markets. Figures are based on continuously collected data through rolling surveys, rather than a single limited questionnaire. Data for Indonesia and Thailand is online representative and weighted by age, gender, and income. Results are presented as percentages and reflect responses collected between December 1, 2024 – December 1, 2025.

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