Fear of gun violence, skin color or being insulted are reasons that influence the decision to travel to the US of visitors from Southeast Asia.
Market research company Milieu Insight surveyed 6,000 tourists from 6 Southeast Asian countries about the reasons why they are hesitant to travel to the US. 74% of guests shared that gun violence is one of the things that worry them. Hawaii was voted the safest state on gun issues, while Texas was the least safe state.
Nearly 80% of survey participants said they were afraid to participate in large gatherings such as going to concerts or large music festivals, due to fear of shootings.
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, one of the famous symbols for American tourists. Image: Maiden Voyage
The survey was conducted with guests in the following countries: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, and Thailand from September 9 to September 18, after the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July. and the second time on September 15.
Milieu Insight points out the difference in worries of tourists from the 6 countries mentioned above. 56% of respondents said they would travel to the US in the next few years and 59% of them said they had visited this country once before.
Of these, 73% of Vietnamese visitors, 70% from Indonesia and 69% of Filipino citizens said they were “likely to come to the US in the next few years”. Meanwhile, 24% of Singaporeans have similar intentions.
However, 75% of respondents disagree with owning guns in America. This figure in Singapore is over 90%.
In addition to guns, Southeast Asian visitors also expressed significant concerns about the risk of becoming victims of physical violence when coming to the US because of racial discrimination. 75% of respondents admitted being “very” or “somewhat” concerned about violence based on skin color. The highest level of concern belongs to Filipino citizens at 81%. Only 4% of tourists polled said they were “not worried” about being attacked when coming to the US.
The level of concern about becoming a victim of verbal abuse also reached a similar number, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, this situation is “somewhat more serious”.
Southeast Asian visitors also said social media is the top source of information they rely on to assess safety and crime rates in the US. Next is news from the international press.
“66% of Filipinos have the highest concern about racism leading to violence when coming to the US,” said a representative of Milieu Insight.