Malaysians are smarty pants travellers

Oh, wonderful Malaysia. The nation beat out 24 countries in a recent survey conducted by Expedia on travel habits and expectations, with 8 out of 10 Malaysians reporting to rely on their smartphones to plan and share their trip over other outlets.(Read Also: Malaysians addicted to staying connected)According to Expedia’s The Future of Travel study, Malaysians (88%) are among the world's most diligent travellers, after India (92%), when it comes to saving their personal data online for a more streamlined booking experience.The study further expands that Malaysian travellers are also one of the least private in the world with their mobile phone numbers making up the most frequent type of information saved online – doubling the global average by 39%.Malaysian travellers also highly value reviews and indulge in sharing their experiences online. It is recorded that Malaysian travellers prefer posting positive reviews (64%) about their experiences rather than negative reviews (42%).Other findings are that Malaysians place the most emphasis on airfare price when making travel decisions (48%) with location being the utmost priority. And despite the high penetration of smartphones in Malaysia, travellers still prefer making reservations through a personal computer, making up 59% of all bookings from business travels.(Read Also: Are Malaysian marketers brave enough in this digital age?)Vikram Malhi, general manager of South and Southeast Asia, Expedia, said that its online portal has helped many millions of Malaysian business travellers book each year. “As millennials increase their decision-making power at work and at home, they’ll be increasingly prominent in areas of travel.The study was conducted among a group of 18 to 30 years old with sharp business and leisure travel habits and expectations. Expedia looked into the Europe (United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway), Asia Pacific (India, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand), North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico), and Brazil. 300 respondents were surveyed from Malaysia.In conjunction with the survey release, Expedia has also launched its interac-phic app for travel planning on-the-go.