The recovery from the pandemic is already well under way in Asia Pacific, but it could take some time for booking sales to fully rebound, given the collapse seen in the travel industry in 2020. While most countries were recording very dynamic growth in 2022, China was lagging somewhat, with ongoing lockdowns as the country maintains its strict zero-COVID-19 policy. Booking sales are currently not slated to return to their 2019 levels in the region until 2025 in real value terms.
This report comes in PPT.
Booking sales started recovering in 2021, with further strong growth seen in 2022. However, the measures put in place to control the spread of COVID-19 caused such a collapse in the travel industry that recovery has thus far only been partial. And, in China, the region’s biggest market, progress is even slower given the government continues to pursue its zero-COVID-19 policy, meaning lockdowns were still being seen across the country even in late 2022.
COVID-19’s impact on the overall economy and consumer sentiment are slowing the recovery in Japan, with recent global political and economic turmoil also leading to increases in the prices of goods and the Japanese yen weakening as well. This is making Japanese consumers more frugal – while they have the desire to travel, and are finally able to do so, the need to balance travel with daily expenses is also important. Metasearch engines that offer the capability to easily compare offers and prices will therefore become more popular.
Online booking overtook offline booking back in 2017 in Asia Pacific and, since then, online sales have continued to outperform offline. By the end of the forecast period, online sales through travel intermediaries will be as good as double those of offline players. The ability to compare different options and discounts via online intermediaries facilitates consumers’ decision-making, as they offer a convenient one-stop platform.
Further strong growth is expected in the next few years for booking as the travel industry continues to recover from the impact of the pandemic. However, a return to 2019 sales levels for booking is not currently expected until 2025, given the losses caused by the strict anti-COVID-19 measures, including border closures, lockdowns and mobility restrictions.
Travel encompasses several categories including tourism flows, lodging, travel modes, in-destination spending and booking.
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