Northstar

The Indispensable Travel Industry Read Feature Highlight CSR in the tourism trade Vol. 2 Issue 22 | 05 July 2011 | www.travelweeklyweb.com | Published by Travel & Meetings Group, Ten Alps Communications Asia Pte Ltd Editor's Pick 8 on Claymore, Singapore Page 2 News Consumer confi dence wanes in Asia Pacifi c SINGAPORE – According to the latest Master- Card Worldwide Index of Consumer Confi dence, consumers across Asia Pacific are concerned at the slow pace of the global economic recovery with a dip in optimism recorded over the last six months. Now in its 19th year, the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence is based on a survey which measures consumer con- fidence on prevailing expectations in the market for the next six months based on five economic indicators: Economy, Employment, Stock Market, Regular Income and Quality of Life. The Index score is calculated with zero as the most pessimis- tic, 100 as most optimistic and 50 as neutral. The latest survey was conducted from 15 March to 27 April 2011 and involved 10,374 consumers from 14 markets. Data collection was via internet surveys, personal, telephone and Computer Aided Tele- phone interviews, with the questionnaire trans- lated to the local language wherever appropriate and necessary. As the global economy continues its slow re- covery, 11 out of the 14 Asia Pacifi c markets polled [Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philip- pines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam] for the Index recorded positive consumer senti- ment with stable optimism recorded in emerging and established markets including China (78.3), Singapore (77.9), Vietnam (77.1), India (75.2), Hong Kong (69.9), Taiwan (67.6), Malaysia (64.9) and Australia (63.1). However, 10 out of the 14 Asia Pacific markets experienced an overall decline in consumer confidence when compared to the previous six months, with three markets – Thai- land (46.1), New Zealand (42.2) and Japan (15.9) – showing widespread pessimism across the fi ve key indicators. Overall Asia Pacifi c recorded a drop in consumer confi dence from 68.0 to 61.5. Asia Pacifi c Rocked by Japan, NZ Earthquakes Overall confidence in the Economy in the Asia Pacific region fell from 70.6 to 59.1, with Employment down from 67.5 to 59.9. Confi dence also fell among consumers on the key indicator of Quality of Life (from 64.7 to 57.0) and the Stock Market (from 65.8 to 58.1), but increased slightly on Regular Income (from 71.6 to 73.1). Japan and New Zealand, both still recovering from devastat- ing earthquakes this year, experienced declines in consumer confi dence across most key indicators, Dreamscape Journeys: Space tourism adventure Page 3 with New Zealand's overall confi dence falling from a positive 53.3 in the previous six months to a pes- simistic 42.2, with a strong decline in confi dence in the Economy (from 53.1 to 35.1). Japan's overall consumer conf idence was at its lowest since 2002, with confidence in the Economy falling from 20.6 six months ago to 12.3 and confidence in Employment down from 21.8 to 13.3. Steep falls in consumer confidence were found in the Philippines, where optimism fell from 80.1 to 53.6 over the last six months, and across all key indicators, most dramatically in Employment (80.0 to 45.3), Qualify of Life (80.5 to 46.7) and the Economy (83.6 to 54.0). "While consumer attitudes remain overwhelmingly posi- tive across this Index there is clearly a percep- tion that the recovery from the fi nancial crisis is not going as smoothly as people would like," said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, global economic advisor for MasterCard Worldwide. "Consumers are fantastic barometers of economic performance. As parts of the world have endured six very diffi cult months dealing with natural disasters, political instability and with ongoing fi nancial uncertainty across the Eurozone, it is no surprise to see consumer senti- ment declining across some of these markets."

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