Data by Amadeus Travel Pulse reveals that search volumes around the globe have been increasing, reaching near-2019 levels for 1Q2022.
Global search volumes in the last week of April 2022 were only 3% down versus the same period in 2019, confirming that traveller confidence and appetite to travel continue to strengthen. There were double-digit increases in many key markets during the whole month of April, with searches from Mexico up 69%, Canada up 29%, and the US up 7%.
Domestic searches in the last week of April saw a 4% increase versus 2019. Markets such as India (up 47%) and Italy (up 82%) are leading the charge.
While domestic has recovered the most, intra-regional searches in the last week of April were only 4% down versus 2019, with impressive growth coming from the UK up 35% and France up 38%.
For international, Argentina is seeing one of the best recoveries with 24% ahead of 2019 levels. India drives international travel recovery as searches to and from the country went up 5% as compared to the same period in 2019.
Search is significantly ahead on a global scale when comparing 2021 to 2022 to date. The first four months of 2022 are on average 69% ahead of the same period last year. Looking at the monthly figures, January was 37% ahead year-on-year; February 77% ahead; March 67% ahead; while April is ahead by 94% compared to the previous year’s searches.
Whereas domestic search saw a 73% increase, while intra-regional search is up 72%, and international search is up 61%.
The data also reveals other aspects of the airline industry returning to familiar territory. Of the 16 most popular routes, nine are seeing search volumes comparable to 2019 including Delhi-Toronto (up 32%), Tel Aviv-New York (up 90%); Seoul-New York (up 10%); Buenos Aires-Madrid (up 49%) and Montreal-Paris (up 60%) among others.
Regional leaders are emerging in EMEA and APAC, with searches to and from London and Seoul dominating, respectively. South Korea is leading with 6 out of 10 routes departing from Seoul as well as the domestic route between Seoul to Jeju surging by 141%. In addition, the route from Sydney to Singapore in April went up by 207%.
