Singaporeans still hitting the skies despite the downturn

Singapore - The tourism industry may be feeling the pinch but interest in traveling among Singaporeans remains strong, according to new data released by travel search engine Wego.com.

In Singapore, where the company has been established since 2006, it has seen a 128% increase (year-on-year) in travelers visiting the site looking for the best travel deals.

Wego's findings show that both Singapore outbound and inbound travelers are currently focusing on short, intra-regional trips. All but one of the destinations in the top 10 searched for by Singaporeans in January 2009 are within the Asia Pacific region and similarly, those looking to travel to Singapore are exclusively from the region.

The top 10 flight searches out of Singapore (1-19 January, 2009) are Bangkok followed by Hong Kong, Denpasar (Bali), Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Sydney, Melbourne, Manila and London. The top 10 flight searches from other destinations to Singapore in the same period are Hong Kong, Manila, Sydney, Madras, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangkok, Melbourne and Jakarta.