MANILA — Sun and sea destinations, including the Caribbean and Latin America, will be leading Travel & Tourism’s recovery with international inbound bookings, says WTTC.
The booking bounce back was revealed at WTTC’s 21st Global Summit, taking place this year in Manila, Philippines. According to knowledge partner ForwardKeys, the countries among the top 20 best performing destinations the summer are Costa Rica, Aruba, Dominican Republic and Jamaica, all of which rely heavily upon international travel. These destinations are leading the pack with bookings already surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
In total, seven out of the top 10 travel destinations are in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Elsewhere, ForwardKeys also found that Q1 and Q2 figures for 2022 are showing triple-digit growth for inbound flight bookings around the world, compared to last year, including the Americas, Europe and Asia.
International arrivals in Europe show a massive 350% surge in Q1 2022 compared to last year. Asia-Pacific countries also saw an increase in arrivals for Q1 this year compared to 2021, with bookings for the region up 275%.
In Q2, tourism’s recovery is further accelerated by a significant rise in international bookings, which have soared by 264% over the year before. This acceleration is particularly notable in Asia where travel restrictions are being removed. The Philippines, host to the WTTC Global Summit, is the fastest growing single destination in South East Asia, which is up 29% in Q2 this year compared to Q1.
“It is very encouraging that Asia has finally begun reopening, which is driving the return of both travel to Asia and within the region, both of which are clearly going to be instrumental in driving the global economic recovery,” said Olivier Ponti, ForwardKeys Vice President Insights.
Meanwhile in Europe, destinations such as Iceland, Greece, Portugal, Spain and France are showing a strong resurgence with travel bookings just slightly behind pre-pandemic levels.
Africa and the Middle East also feature in the top 20 list, with Tanzania, Qatar and Egypt also reaching close to pre-pandemic levels of travel.
