Holidaymakers relax on Boracay; the Philippines is showing the strongest recovery in Asia Pacific.
Travel in Asia Pacific is bouncing back strongly, according to The World Travel & Tourism Council.
The WTTC and knowledge partner ForwardKeys are forecasting a major increase in global international flights this summer as the world recovers after the pandemic.
According to Julia Simpson, WTTC president, booking data from ForwardKeys shows a strong recovery of the travel and tourism sector. And although the Caribbean and Latin America currently top the destination leaderboard, travel to the Asia Pacific region “shows impressive signs of improvement as destinations gradually reopen their borders to visitors,” said Simpson.
In recent months, popular Southeast Asian destinations including Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore have all significantly relaxed their travel restrictions.
“It’s very encouraging that Asia has finally begun reopening, which is driving the return of both travel to Asia and within the region, both of which are clearly going to be instrumental in driving the global economic recovery,” said Olivier Ponti, vice president at ForwardKeys.
Quarters one and two of this year show triple-digit growth for inbound flight bookings globally compared with 2021, including the Americas, Europe and Asia. Bookings to Asia in quarter one of this year were up 275% compared to the same period last year. According to the WTTC, the Philippines is the fastest growing single destination in Southeast Asia.
Travel trends for 2022 include heightened demand for premium airline cabin classes and stronger last-minute bookings.
The recovery is expected to accelerate in Asia Pacific as destinations continue to reopen.
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