Asia Pacific

Two key players in South Korea's online travel agencies are Yeogi Eottae and Yanolja, which both began as OTAs focused on lodging in the country. However, they are continuously expanding their businesses beyond this sector to include different travel…

The volume of people travelling by air more than doubled in 2023, supported by the relaxation of border control measures, both within Taiwan and neighbouring Asian countries. With air travel having been off-limits during the pandemic, there was a…

Air Premier is an airline which initially launched in 2017. Unlike full service and low cost carriers, Air Premier is positioned as a "hybrid airline". Full service carriers are known to offer various airfares, but tend to be perceived as premium,…

Travel in Vietnam is being supported by the revival of tourism following the era of the pandemic when such activities and industries were curtailed. In 2023, Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong signed Decision No. 405/QD-BVHTTDL, which issued the…

As of 1 October 2022, Thailand fully lifted all pandemic-related border requirements. To enter the country, international travellers no longer needed to show proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 test. This resulted in a strong recovery for…

Travel in Malaysia continues on a strong path to recovery boosted by the end of the pandemic and a strong desire to travel again. There has been a significant increase in international travel thanks to the lifting of restrictions and COVID-19 related…

Japan finally eased its various regulations around COVID-19 in 2023. This has had a significant impact on the travel industry in 2023, not only in terms of deregulation, but also in terms of changes in consumers’ perception of and behaviour towards…

2023 is the year that travel in Hong Kong is set to start to see significant recovery from the pandemic. The Hong Kong government gradually released COVID-19-related restrictions from the last quarter of 2022, and started to welcome visitors from…

Travel sales in China are set to strongly rebound in 2023, following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in the country and the reopening of the border to inbound arrivals. In terms of domestic tourism, volume is predicted to recover faster than…

Tourism flows are rebounding strongly in 2023, however some challenges remain to limit the growth of inbound tourism. Namely, short visa duration periods are one of the significant factors limiting flows into Vietnam. Although the country reopened…

The volume of inbound arrivals increased for the second consecutive year in 2023, following the lifting of all remaining COVID-19 related entry restrictions in October 2022. The return of tourists from other countries in Asia-Pacific, notably China,…

After surpassing the initial target for tourist arrivals in 2022, Malaysia is projected to continue on the path to recovery in 2023, albeit the number of inbound arrivals is expected to remain well below pre-pandemic levels, in terms of number of…

Lagging slightly behind many other countries globally, Japan finally eased its various regulations around COVID-19 in 2023. This has been very significant for the travel industry, not only in terms of deregulation, but also in terms of changes in…

The full resumption of quarantine-free travel is the major driver of the expected exceptional spike in inbound arrivals to Hong Kong in 2023. Inbound arrivals are expected to recover to more than 60% of the 2019 level in 2023, with full recovery…

Effective from 8 Jan 2023, the Chinese government lifted inbound travel restrictions, such as testing and contact tracing passes, effectively ending the country’s “zero-Covid” policy practiced for the last three years. Subsequently, international…

Following the event of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of Vietnamese people who are prioritising their health, actively seeking ways to reduce stress, and taking care of their mental wellbeing. Recognising…

Lodging in Thailand continued to bounce back in 2023, with the number of room nights in hotels exceeding pre-pandemic levels. This buoyancy of demand allowed certain hotels to raise their room prices, as they were confident about attracting more…

As with the other travel categories, lodging’s recovery has also been boosted by the re-opening of international borders and a significant increase in tourism flows in 2023. Before this, lodging was mainly relying on domestic travellers which led to…

During COVID-19, lodging in Japan suffered greatly due to various travel restrictions, leading many outlets to close temporarily, or even some to close altogether. However, in 2023, when travel restrictions were lifted completely early in the year,…

Hotels is set to see full recovery to the 2019 level of retail value sales in 2023. The return of mainland China tourists after the border reopening has greatly contributed to the recovery of hotels, and thus lodging. However, there has been uneven…