Travel

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…

The Filipino travel industry continued to recover in 2023, with the volume of inbound arrivals having recorded triple-digit growth over the previous year. This followed the easing of all remaining international travel restrictions, including COVID-19…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

The Indonesian travel industry is showing significant expansion in 2023. The main reason behind this growth is the revocation of the PPKM (Community Activities Restrictions Enforcement) policy at the end of 2022, which has resulted in much greater…

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…

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…

Inbound arrivals (in terms of number of trips) continued to recover in 2023, having recorded triple-digit growth over the previous year. This followed the easing of all remaining international travel restrictions, including COVID-19 test…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

In 2023, tourism flows are expected to show a significant increase compared to 2022. This has already been seen in the first quarter of 2023. Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Timor Leste and India were still the countries that made the largest…

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…

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…

Hotels in the Philippines continued to bounce back in 2023, with the number of room nights being close to pre-pandemic levels. The sector suffered during the pandemic, due to mobility restrictions, with resulted in some hotels closing for business on…

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…

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.

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…

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,…

In 2023, the hotel occupancy rate has again shown an increase, although it has not yet recovered to the figure seen in 2019, immediately before the outbreak of COVID-19. However, several cities in Central Java, such as Solo City, have recorded…

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…

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. This rebound was driven largely due to pent-up demand, as well as strong growth in domestic tourism and the rising popularity of staycations by domestic travellers.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Online bookings are showing a significant growth trend in 2023. The repeal of PPKM at the end of 2022 has had a very positive impact on this category. Various promos offered by OTA, especially special price promotions for orders on certain dates, are…

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…

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 volume of passengers travelling by air surpassed pre-COVID-19 levels in 2023. This was due to the easing of pandemic-related restrictions, which encouraged consumers to revive any travel plans that had been put on hold during the pandemic.…