INTERNATIONAL. Domestic air travel ticketing trends in Russia and South Korea are showing encouraging signs of recovery, mirroring the rebound in the Chinese domestic market. That’s according to travel analytics firm ForwardKeys, with has supplied its latest data with The Moodie Davitt Report under a new partnership, announced last week.
“Domestic travel has recovered or is close to recovery, which means that travellers are not afraid to board a plane. If they can fly domestic, there is no reason why they would be scared to fly abroad when there is a gradual easing of travel restrictions”
As noted, the China domestic market fully recovered from the COVID-19-related slump in September. This was illustrated by the +4.3% year-on-year growth in arrivals recorded during the recent Mid-Autumn Festival and Golden Week.
Now, data for South Korea local travel is showing a full recovery in ticketing, said ForwardKeys. In the last week of October and the first week of November, issued tickets recovered to 2019 levels. This positive signal is also influenced by shorter booking lead times in South Korea’s domestic market. Year to date, 69% of travellers booked 14 days before their departure date in 2020, while this figure was only 49% in 2019.
[As reported, many Koreans unable to travel overseas are choosing to fly within Korea and Jeju Island is a hugely popular destination. Like the US Thanksgiving holiday, Korea’s Chuseok is a national event where large family gatherings occur. This year, however, the government discouraged people from making family visits, due to fears of spreading the coronavirus. Instead, many chose to fly to Jeju, with visitor numbers during the Chuseok holiday increasing from 266,790 in 2019 to 280,125 visitors in 2020.]
Similar booking behaviour is taking shape in the Russian domestic market, said ForwardKeys. 70% of travellers booked just four days before their departure in 2020 (YTD), while the figure was 63% in the same period in 2019.
“Domestic travel has recovered or is close to recovery, which means that travellers are not afraid to board a plane. If they can fly domestic, there is no reason why they would be scared to fly abroad when there is a gradual easing of travel restrictions,” said ForwardKeys China Market Expert Nan Dai.
“Also, a trend we’ve noticed regarding domestic travel in these key markets is that people tend to book more and more last minute. With travellers getting used to this booking habit, this shorter lead time might become a ‘New Normal’ even after the pandemic has passed,” added Dai.
If you would like to know more about the latest travel trends in China, looking forward towards the Lunar New Year, register to attend the ForwardKeys China Expert Session on December 16 at this link: https://forwardkeys.com/china-travel-expert-session-dec-2020-2/
Global Recovery Dashboard
As noted above, The Moodie Davitt Report has partnered with ForwardKeys to bring the travel analytics company’s Global Recovery Dashboard and other services to an expanded audience via our market-leading website.
Through the initiative, we will provide regular data and insight on travel patterns in domestic and international markets during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Global Recovery Dashboard is ForwardKeys’ latest travel analytics solution, powered by proprietary forward travel bookings data and updated in real time. The latest highlights are available below and will feature regularly in our online content.
Enquiries about the Global Recovery Dashboard are welcome via the form below.
Information on the ForwardKeys Travellers Statistics Dashboard and Chinese Shopper Statistics are also available through The Moodie Davitt Report. The Traveller Statistics Dashboard pools data from a network of 552 airports to provide passenger traffic figures and nationality mix. The Chinese Shopper Statistics tool provides details on the Chinese duty free shopper in Hainan with rich details on their spend and profile. More below.
- The Global Recovery Dashboard provides weekly updates on flight bookings and seat capacity at one click. Learn more at this link.
- Traveller Statistics: Monitor the nationality mixes and traveller profiles at over 500 airports worldwide with Traveller Statistics. Learn more here.
- Chinese Shopper Tracker: Observe the evolution of the Chinese consumer and their shopping habits at duty free stores in China and beyond using China spend data exclusive to ForwardKeys. Learn more here.
For more information about ForwardKeys and its travel analytics tools, please contact The Moodie Davitt Report Senior Retail and Commercial Analyst Min Yong Jung at MinYong@MoodieDavittReport.com
ForwardKeys Actual Air Tickets Report
ForwardKeys Seat Capacity Report
