The report was based on a study conducted in collaboration with the Asia Pacific International Spirits and Wines Association (APISWA), which contained the responses of 1,800 tourists to the ASEAN region from its five major source markets of China, South Korea, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
“One of the report’s key findings was that value-for-money propositions have become ever more important to tourists after the pandemic,” APISWA Director and Pernod Ricard Asia Head of Corporate Affairs Olivia Widen told FoodNavigator-Asia at the Singapore launch of the report.
“Importantly, this is not limited to a tourists from a certain background or a certain market, but largely across the board – in fact, we found value-for-money to be even more important to high-income respondents (78%) than low-income respondents (75%), but overall this was ranked this as the most important driver by both groups.
“This shows that for the ASEAN region to maintain its strong allure as a tourist destination, there is a need to balance premium and affordable offerings as a slight imbalance in either direction could lead to a whole group of potential consumers being torn away.”
This theory is applicable to not only the food service and hospitality sector but also the travel retail and domestic food and beverage manufacturing sector, given that eating and souvenir shopping, particularly for localised packaged food or beverage products, tend to be high on many tourists’ priority lists.
“Even when it comes to ensuring premium products, there needs to be this understanding that premium no longer means luxury or expensive but instead it means quality, creativity and accessibility, or a [large portion of consumers will be lost],” she added.
“It is a combination of high quality products provided in a wide variety and at consumers’ convenience, which can cater to every one who comes no matter what their budget is.
“The concept of premium also varies greatly across markets – for example, China tourists see convenience as the greatest priority and they will pay up to three times more for privileges such as increased accessibility to food and beverage options.”
Food safety non-negotiable
One area that South East Asia has had some reputational trouble with has been food safety, but according to Wilden this is definitely ‘non-negotiable’ and needs to be continually improved and prioritised.
“Our findings highlight a prominent reputational risk in the region over food hygiene and safety – for example, the WHO listed South East Asia as having the second highest burden of food-borne diseases after Africa, and there are also many new stories such as alcohol poisoning, such as in Vietnam in 2022 and Thailand in 2024, which contribute to this fear,” she said.
“Perceptions of the safety and reliability of food and beverage products are paramount as around 84% of our respondents said this is important to their choice of destination, and indeed this should be viewed as a non-negotiable necessity.”
