ASIA PACIFIC. Data analyst ForwardKeys has outlined how travel bookings are beginning to recover in key Asia Pacific markets as COVID-19 restrictions ease.
Tickets booked for travel to India this year – where international flights resume from 27 March – had recovered to 80% of 2019 levels by 5 March (for arrivals occurring at a later date). Forward bookings to the Pacific island of Fiji also recovered strongly by this date, to 61% of pre-pandemic levels, followed by the Philippines (48%); Singapore (43%) and Australia (38%).
ForwardKeys Market Analyst Nan Dai said: “The success behind India’s reactivation is the fact that India had announced in advance its reopening plan for this year, generating awareness and interest. Fiji is a leisure island destination and that is its main advantage during this recovery phase as people may feel safer to travel to less crowded (than cities) places with a variety of outdoor activities.”
Key role of Australia in recovery
Analysing recovery in key source markets for destinations in the Asia Pacific region, ForwardKeys noted the importance of Australian outbound travellers.
Bookings from Australia to India (by early March for travel later in the year) are up +16% compared to 2019. Australia bookings to Fiji are tracking close to or even above 2019 levels for the months ahead (see chart).
“India removed the requirement for quarantine and facilitated travel by adding more countries to its Category A country list (Australia included); allowing for entry with proof of vaccination,” added Dai.
Travel bookings from other key Western markets to India are also rising: the USA is up by +10% and Ireland +4% on 2019 levels by early March compared to 2019.
Commenting on the pace of reopening in Asia Pacific, Dai said: “Many APAC government bodies and destinations may feel like travel is unlikely to take place soon to their destination, and continue their protective travel rules and/or closed borders. However, as other destinations and travel tactics have shown from Mexico and Greece to the UK, restarting travel safely and healthily is possible if led by data and clear travel rules that don’t get changed frequently.
“For example, in Singapore, the leisure market is showing more resilience than in 2019 and there have been growth in issued tickets from Thailand (+12%) and Denmark (+9%) to Singapore – these are new and exciting opportunities worth exploiting via new flight frequencies or marketing campaigns for the tourism boards,” she added.
In the case of Australia, while total inbound traveller numbers remain low, ForwardKeys data reveals a sharp rise in premium cabin class bookings in 2022 versus 2019.
