Visa cardholders spend 22% more

Visa cardholders spend 22% more

JAKARTA (JP): Visa cardholders from overseas spent a total of US$287 million in Indonesia in the year to Sep. 30 last year, 22 percent more than the previous year, Visa International said in a press release yesterday.

Of the total, 55-percent was spent by cardholders coming to Indonesia from other Asia-Pacific nations.

Visa also said in the statement that Indonesian Visa cardholders spent $277 million overseas in the 12-month period, up 21 percent from the previous year.

Indonesian Visa cardholders spent most when they traveled in the Asia-Pacific region. About $175 million, or 63 percent of the worldwide total was spent in the region, followed by $54 million spent in the United States and $44 million in Europe.

Within the Asia-Pacific region, the top three spending destinations for Indonesian Visa cardholders were Singapore, where $99.6 million was spent (up eight percent); Hong Kong, $30.5 million (up 10 percent); and Australia, $20.6 million (up 50 percent).

Spending by Indonesian Visa cardholders increased most in Australia, up 50 percent to $20.6 million, spending in Malaysia was up 36 percent to $5.4 million and up 35 percent in the Philippines to $1.6 million.

The latest breakdown of travel spending by Visa International Asia-Pacific shows that the biggest spender in Indonesia were Visa cardholders from Japan, who used their cards to buy products and services amounting to $62.4 million in the period, figuring a 24-percent up on the previous period.

The second biggest spenders were Singaporeans, who spent $35 million in Indonesia, up 20 percent from last year. Australian travelers spent $17.5 million, up 25 percent from the year before.

In terms of growth, the largest spending increases among the Asia-Pacific cardholders who used Visa in Indonesia were recorded by visitors from the Philippines, up 150 percent to $480,000, India up 109 percent to $102,000 and Korea up 45 percent to $5.8 million.

The highest Visa total in the region for visitor spending was Hong Kong, with $1.6 billion (up 22 percent), followed by Australia with $940 million (up 30 percent) and Singapore with $803 million (up 17 percent), the statement said. (icn)