Skyscanner’s new report explored the latest trends in global travel, and combined consumer polling with extensive flight search and booking data from each region – APAC, the Americas and EMEA – to provide a comprehensive view of 2022 travel demand.
Unique and in-depth analysis of key indicators such as travel spend, booking horizons, haul type, trip length, trending destinations and how they compare to pre-pandemic provides unrivalled insights for the sector.
The report also featured expert commentary on these trends shaping recovery from industry thought leaders such as Hugh Aitken, Skyscanner VP of flights; Nick Hall, CEO of Digital Tourism Think Tank; Marco Navarria, global content and marketing director, CAPA; and John Strickland, director of JLS Consulting.
Key APAC findings showed the following: a longer booking horizons surge in Q1, specifically segments 90+ days, 60 to 89 days, and 30 to 59 days; Q1 2022 domestic travel significantly higher than in 2019 – both long haul and short haul seeing strong growth over the quarter following rising demand after the ease of travel restrictions in many APAC countries; and longer trip lengths peak in July and December (trips of two weeks to a month and longer than a month).
As restrictions ease across the region, travellers are searching for trending destinations such as Newcastle in Australia, Hyderabad in India, and Boston in the US. With a clear demand for domestic and short-haul travel, airlines are relaunching pre-pandemic routes and announcing new destinations.
Aitken commented: “Despite challenging headwinds, the aviation industry continues to prove its resilience, driven by considerable traveller demand across all regions.
“Our latest report crunches three months of data to provide unrivalled insight into the latest traveller behaviours and patterns – and how they compare to pre-pandemic. We’re seeing positive signals that seasonality is returning in both booking horizons and trip lengths, providing a degree of certainty going forward.”
Following a spike in Thailand Pass registrations over the last few weeks, new data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) indicates that the country is on target to welcome 20 million arrivals in 2023.
The uptick in arrivals comes in response to the relaxation of entry rules in April, the full removal of Test and Go PCR requirements, and the minimum Covid insurance coverage halved to US$10,000 on May 1.
As of May 3, TAT’s figures totalled 853,165 international visitors to Thailand – 74,414 from the UK, 63,342 from Germany, 55,995 from Russia, 51,783 from India and 49,792 from the US. This marked an increase of 139,982 in arrivals announced on April 25.
According to TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn, the impact of the new guidelines will fare even better if China – which made up the lion’s share of arrivals in happier times – eases her travel restrictions as well.
“The industry next year is poised to strengthen from this year, making the goal of attracting 20 million tourists, half the total in 2019, achievable. This is particularly the case if China, which previously contributed one-third of arrivals, lifts border controls by that time.”
The predicted boost in arrivals should translate to approximately 80 per cent of 2019 levels – or about 2.4 trillion baht (US$69.6 billion) in predicted revenue for 2023.
The governor added that the immediate future of the low-season longhaul market is also looking up, and could mean that Thailand will receive as many as 500,000 tourists by the end of this month.
To maximise the opportunities presented by the surge in arrivals and encourage more tourists to return to Thailand, TAT is planning to submit an application to the Center for Economic Situation Administration for a campaign designed to promote the city’s culture, attractions and famous nightlife.