We’ve seen strong and continued demand for all travel types across Q1 this year
• Despite a backdrop of higher airfares and a challenging economic climate for some, travelling internationally is a top priority for many people across the world.
• Destinations in Asia-Pacific feature heavily in searches globally as travellers show a desire to return to the East.
GLORead full report
Key report findings:
GLOBAL
- The majority of popular travel destinations for the second and third quarters are in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan are experiencing positive effects.
- Bookings made more than 90 days in advance for long-distance travel have increased worldwide, indicating both traveler confidence and demand. Search activity aligns with seasonal trends observed before the pandemic.
The Americas
- Travelers from the Americas are planning ahead, with longer booking windows, particularly in the 60-89 day range, increasing for all types of trips.
- While short-haul booking windows show fluctuations compared to 2019, long-haul booking windows have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
- There is a growing interest among AMER travelers to revisit destinations in Asia, as evidenced by a surge in search demand compared to 2022. Other long-haul destinations such as Morocco, New Zealand, and Norway are also trending for the second and third quarters.
- Fiji, a popular bucket list destination, has seen increased year-on-year search demand, especially in July and August.
EMEA
- Travelers from the EMEA region are looking forward to the summer, with longer booking windows increasing for both short and long-haul trips.
- EMEA travelers are showing strong interest in returning to Asian destinations, particularly Taiwan, Japan, and Laos, as evidenced by a significant increase in search demand compared to 2022. Short-term high demand is also observed for Saudi Arabia and China, while Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam are trending throughout the second and third quarters.
- Among the top 10 trending destinations, Albania is the only European country experiencing a year-on-year increase in search demand.
APAC
- In the APAC region, long-haul travel is a top priority for travelers as booking windows expand across all segments, ranging from less than one week to over 90 days. However, booking patterns are still some distance away from returning to pre-2019 levels for all types of trips.
- Taiwan, Laos, and Japan are the popular choices for APAC travelers, with a significant surge in search volumes compared to 2022. Travelers in the APAC region are also seeking inspiration, as the term ‘Everywhere’ emerges as a top trending search term. Additionally, Austria and Hungary, European destinations, are experiencing a rising year-on-year search demand.
- In the second and third quarters, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam dominate the trending search volumes, accounting for over two-thirds of the total.
Top trending destinations for travellers from AMER
These are the top 10 destinations with the biggest year-on-year increase in Q1 searches for travel in the next six months, compared to the same period in 2022.
1. China +317%
2. Japan +266%
3. Taiwan +215%
4. Singapore +172%
5. Malaysia +169%
6. New Zealand +136%
7. Norway +127%
8. Morocco +125%
9. Saudi Arabia +124%
10. Fiji +118%
Top trending destinations for travellers from EMEA
These are the top 10 destinations with the biggest year-on-year increase in Q1 searches for travel in the next six months, compared to the same period in 2022.
1. Taiwan +791%
2. Japan +433%
3. Laos +367%
4. China +359%
5. Saudi Arabia +264%
6. Malaysia +259%
7. Albania +254%
8. Singapore +245%
9. South Korea +215%
10. Vietnam +201%
Top trending destinations for travellers from APAC
These are the top 10 destinations with the biggest year-on-year increase in Q1 searches for travel in the next six months, compared to the same period in 2022.
1. Taiwan +1426%
2. Laos +895%
3. Japan +800%
4. Everywhere +701%
5. Mongolia +679%
6. China +618%
7. Thailand +580%
8. Vietnam +545%
9. Austria +469%
10. Hungary +462%
The report also features exclusive expert commentary on these trends from industry thought leaders such as Mike Ferguson from Skyscanner, Centre for Aviation’s Marco Navarria, and Nick Hall of Digital Tourism Think Tank.
Mike Ferguson, Director of Destination Marketing at Skyscanner commented, “Globally, we’re seeing more travellers come to Skyscanner than ever before. It’s indicative of both the sector’s continued recovery and the exceptional travel demand across all regions.
“Destinations, particularly in APAC, are benefitting from increased search volumes compared to last year and, at the same time, long-haul booking windows are lengthening. Long-haul international travel has been slower to recover than other segments, but 2023 looks set to change that.”
Marco Navarria, Global Content and Marketing Director at CAPA said of the report, “Skyscanner’s important Horizons report once again reaffirms the industry results CAPA has seen within the Aviation industry. The report has highlighted that the majority of trending destinations for summer travel are in Asia Pacific.
CAPA data shows that Asia Pacific airlines posted a +376.3% increase in Jan-2023 international traffic compared to Jan-2022, by far the strongest year-over-year rate among all the world’s regions, but off a very low base. Capacity rose 167.1% and the load factor increased 36.6 percentage points to 83.3%, the highest among the regions.”
Nick Hall, CEO of Digital Tourism Think Tank said, “The resurgence of long-haul travel globally is a key opportunity for destinations to seize, competing to win over high-value travellers undeterred by a challenging economic climate.”
