Understand the cultural and socioeconomic influences that shape i...
Understand the cultural and socioeconomic influences that shape industry demand throughout Asia-Pacific, with local insight, market statistics and analysis ranging from strategic regional overview to in-depth coverage by country or city.
Embedded finance is the critical factor to improve customer journey and drive transformation for services industries.. With travel recovery and sluggish volume sales of automotives, embedded finance is considered to have the most potential to build…
Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…
In 2023, inbound travel to India is set to see robust growth on the back of international events, coupled with government initiatives. Global political gatherings such as the G20 summit, and the hosting of international sporting events have helped…
In 2023, international events, coupled with initiatives by the government, have been allowing inbound tourism to witness healthy growth, which is ultimately expected to drive current value sales beyond the pre-pandemic level, seen in 2019. Inbound…
Mid-market and budget hotels continue to account for a large share of sales, together expected to account for a 41% share of value sales in overall hotels in India in 2023, on the back of healthy double-digit growth in domestic leisure trips. The…
On the back of a competitive pricing structure, the facility to cross-compare, and a seamless customer journey, travel bookings via online channels have gained further momentum, which is set to take the penetration of online travel bookings to 47% in…
Airlines in India is set to experience robust demand and growth in 2023, propelled by a surge in interest from tier-2 and non-metro cities. Certain tier-2 cities, such as Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Surat, Pune, and Indore, are expected to witness rises in…
This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries in Q4 2023 and 2024. Global inflation is moderating, although divergence remains among the key economies. Higher volatility in the energy markets and disruption of…
Singapore continues to recover strongly in 2023. While the travel and tourism industry in Asia Pacific experienced a slow recovery during the early stages of reopening, Singapore has managed to stay ahead. However, the primary inbound source markets,…
While the tourism industry in Asia Pacific was experiencing a slow recovery during the early stages of reopening, Singapore managed to stay ahead. In fact, Singapore welcomed travellers who were completely vaccinated when its border reopened in April…
In 2023, the average daily room rate in Singapore, across different hotel tiers, continued to reach an all-time high due to two major reasons, namely the labour shortage and increased demand from Chinese tourists. Singapore was no exception to the…
Business travel is experiencing a significant rebound in 2023, driven by the recovery of MICE events (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), and complemented by sustainable initiatives. The return of well-known international events in…
As it worked to recover from the pandemic's effects, the aviation sector generally confronted substantial problems in terms of staffing and fleet capacity. First of all, staffing became one of the biggest challenges for its recovery. Airlines lost a…
The travel industry in Taiwan continued on its road to recovery in 2023, with the volume of inbound arrivals having recorded high triple-digit growth over the previous year. Following the lifting of all COVID-19-related entry restrictions in October…
In 2022, the gradual removal of pandemic-related restrictions in South Korea led to a significant surge in outbound travel demand. This trend continues in 2023. Outbound travellers in both 2022 and 2023 have also been spending considerable sums of…
Following the lifting of all COVID-19-related entry restrictions in October 2022, the volume of inbound arrivals to Taiwan in 2023 dramatically increased. The government also resumed visa-free travel for citizens of major countries within Europe,…
In 2022, travel restrictions that the Korean government had introduced as part of pandemic measures were eased for both inbound and outbound travellers in stages, while most countries had removed their stringent travel restrictions due to the waning…
Hotels in Taiwan continued to bounce back in 2023, although the number of room nights remained below pre-pandemic levels. The sector suffered during the pandemic, due to mobility restrictions, with resulted in some hotels closing, or becoming…
As in previous years, an increasing number of hotels new to South Korea are emerging. Among them, some are international brands, some are the expansion of established brands, while others are domestic names.
Retail sales of bookings continued to grow strongly in constant value terms in 2023. This trend was driven primarily by leisure travel, due to the release of pent-up consumer demand. Japan was the most popular destination for Taiwanese consumers,…
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…
Mid-market hotels continue to gain share as consumers trade up in terms of spending on accommodation, such as moving away from unrated or budget to mid-market options. This is being driven by increasing awareness of health and safety accelerated by…
Travel intermediaries are embracing the health and wellbeing trends by introducing a range of new products specifically designed for mental and physical rejuvenation. In 2023, there has been a noticeable rise in the number of Vietnamese individuals…
Retail sales of bookings continued to grow strongly in constant value terms in 2023 as they edged even closer to pre-pandemic levels. While offline booking saw a strong recovery, online booking still accounted for more than two thirds of retail…
Tourism Malaysia is looking for new ways to expand its reach and entice more travellers to book a holiday in the country. For example, Tourism Malaysia collaborated with Indonesian travel platform Traveloka on a smart partnership campaign to promote…
COVID-19 has changed various elements in businesses, from the implementation of working from home, to the normalisation of online meetings, and paperless applications and approvals. With such momentum, this has also triggered an acceleration of the…
Booking through travel intermediaries is becoming increasingly popular amongst leisure travellers. Local consumers shifted to booking travel online during the pandemic due to greater convenience and accessibility. According to Euromonitor…
Booking in China has seen a rapid shift from offline to online sales, as the country has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the world, and local consumers are accustomed to booking travel online. However, 2023 is set to see a temporary…
During the review period, low-cost carriers experienced a more significant increase in both sales value and the number of passengers compared to full-service carriers. This growth can be primarily attributed to the more rapid recovery of domestic…
The number of people travelling via air saw triple-digit growth for the second consecutive year in 2023, with volumes exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The return of tourists from other countries in Asia-Pacific, notably China, was a key contributor to…
Airlines in Malaysia experienced strong growth in terms of domestic flights in 2022 while international air travel is expected to rise significantly in 2023 now that global border restrictions have been lifted. As a result, the number of people…