Travel

Travel intermediaries and direct suppliers are both seeing strong growth in current value terms in 2023, with strong sales seen through online and offline and in business and leisure. As a result, booking sales are set to see a full return to…

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…

The war in Ukraine has had a detrimental impact on the travel industry in Kenya, including the booking sector. The conflict has resulted in an overall increase in travel costs, making it more expensive for individuals to explore various destinations…

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…

The robust rebound in bookings that began in 2022 has persisted into 2023, propelled by pent-up travel demand and increasing prices that have contributed to value sales growth. Despite air capacity constraints and labour shortages, available…

Travel intermediaries, especially traditional intermediaries, suffered during the pandemic. In 2023, however, consumers continue to see a degree of complexity in travel following the two years of pandemic travel restrictions, such as specific…

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…

The cost of living crisis has not had a significant impact on Czech consumers' appetite for travel. Following the pandemic, Czechs are looking to travel abroad after two years of travel restrictions, when many consumers spent holidays at home. As…

Business travel bookings have been on the rebound, although the space looks different post-pandemic. Small group travel and 1:1 meetings in particular are on the rise, due in part to the cultural shift associated with distributed team and hybrid work…

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…

The Mercure hotel brand, part of the Accor chain, opened a new four-star establishment in Rosario in March 2023. This new luxury option in the city offers guests 137 rooms with numerous spaces and rooms for common use. The new hotel also offers a…

Lodging (destination) continues to recover well from the COVID-19 slump in Belgium. By the end of 2023, all types of lodging are expected to exceed their 2019 pre-pandemic retail current value sales. In addition, the number of room nights in hotels…

Benefiting most from lifted COVID-19 restrictions in 2023 are hotels based in leisure-focused destinations and resort areas. Pent-up demand for leisure travel is driving recovery in lodging, with hotels in resorts providing outdoor activities doing…

The hotel sector has undergone a significant transformation in response to the evolving needs of guests. With the rise of remote work, travellers now seek hotels that offer high-speed internet bandwidth, open spaces for comfortable work environments,…

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…

As domestic travel continued to perform strongly in Denmark and inbound travel boomed after lifting COVID-19 restrictions, 2022 saw a rise in lodging in Denmark. This led to records in overnight stays and value spent on lodging, with the latter being…

During the pandemic, international tourism faced significant limitations, prompting lodging establishments to recalibrate their approaches to attract domestic tourists by substantially lowering average rates. However, as the review period unfolded,…

Finland was one of the countries that imposed few restrictions on lodging during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, outlets were not forced to close nor were they restricted to only hosting certain types of guests. However, there were…

Retail value sales of lodging (destination) continued to post strong retail value growth in Greece, driven by luxury and upscale hotels, which have already recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Alongside the growth of luxury and upscale hotels, there has…

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…

The available lodging for tourists has declined in 2023 as compared to 2019. The reduction in capacity is a direct result from the government’s reliance on tourist accommodation to house those seeking refuge, followed by new legislation impacting…

During 2023, the local government has been trying to make significant changes to the judiciary system in Israel which would limit. Under the government’s so-called “reasonableness” bill, which was passed into law in July 2023, the Supreme Court will…

Hotels have seen a strong recovery in 2023 although the recovery has been at different speeds between the different categories, with the recovery certainly being driven by an increase in average daily rates (ADR). The exception to this is hotel…

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,…

Hoteliers are optimistic about 2023 as they anticipate a notable surge in demand for hotel accommodations. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a shift in travellers’ preferences, leading them to reconsider their travel choices and explore new…

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…

The upward trajectory of inbound arrivals, buoyed by China's borders reopening and the resurgence of Chinese tourists to New Zealand, played a pivotal role in sustaining the growth of value sales in the lodging sector throughout 2023. This momentum…

2023 marks the return of inbound travellers to Spain, thus boosting hotel occupancy rates. Indeed, Spain is seeing a return to pre-pandemic levels of tourism, with good weather over the Easter and May bank holidays also benefitting domestic tourism.…

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…

Luxury hotels see the slowest recovery due to a gradual return of foreign tourists to the Czech capital and growing inflationary pressure on overseas and domestic tourists, translating into lower spending power. The luxury category also shows the…

Although occupancy generally remained below 2019 levels, hotels grew at an unprecedented rate in value terms in 2022. As travel restrictions loosened, unforeseen high demand in the latter half of the year met slowed investment in supply levels,…

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…

Domestic tourism continues to see very positive development with large mobilisations of people throughout the country. This is being supported by several factors. On one hand, the access to US dollars to travel abroad is very limited and very…

Domestic tourism derived some benefit in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as borders closed and consumers looked within the country for travel for economic, health and logistical reasons. As a result, the number of domestic trips is…

In October 2022, the Canadian government removed all remaining COVID-19 related travel restrictions This led to strong growth of inbound and outbound travel, with this trend continuing into 2023. Household savings are high thanks to severely reduced…

During summer 2023, inbound tourism in Chile has shown a moderate increase compared to 2022, but it is still to reach pre-pandemic levels. The top five countries of origin for tourists visiting Chile in 2023 are Argentina, Bolivia, the US, Brazil,…

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…

In 2022, inbound tourism to Denmark developed exceptionally well, with the number of visitors and visitor spending exceeding the 2019 level, breaking records. Despite the uncertainty of high inflation and the impact it brings, 2023 is again seeing…

During the review period, domestic tourism experienced remarkable growth, achieving unprecedented historical figures. Several key factors contributed to this phenomenon. Firstly, after enduring approximately two years of confinement, numerous…

Coronavirus (COVID-19) caused dramatic decreases in travel flows to/from Finland in 2020-2021. Early 2021 was a weaker year than early 2020, which preceded the outbreak of COVID-19 and implementation of measures to stem the spread of the virus. As…

In 2023, inbound tourism is enjoying a strong recovery in Greece, with the number of trips expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year. There is much optimism, even though bookings in the first quarter were somewhat…

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…

2023 has seen a significant recovery in terms of inbound arrivals to Ireland with the number of trips set to reach 89% of pre-pandemic levels. With COVID-19 restrictions lifted the country has begun welcoming back visitors from key source markets…

Outbound departures are expected to nearly reach pre-pandemic numbers in 2023. This is largely due to the high cost of domestic travel which is encouraging locals to travel abroad. Once the skies were reopened after the pandemic restrictions were…

Tourism flows in Italy have performed very well in 2023 with figures expected to come close to pre-pandemic levels in terms of number of trips. The Easter weekend contributed to the recovery of tourism in Italy, with domestic and foreign tourists…

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, Kenya's tourism industry is poised to experience a resurgence with the reopening of China to international travel. This presents a promising opportunity for growth, as Chinese visitors have the potential to significantly contribute to the…

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…

In March 2023, New Zealand was announced as one of the select few countries granted approved destination status (ADS) by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as China began re-opening its borders. Before the pandemic, China stood as New Zealand’s…

TURESPAÑA, the Spanish public body attached to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, through the Secretariat State for Tourism, is responsible for the promotion of Spain as a tourist destination in the world. The body predicted a positive year…