Traveler confidence seems to be growing, with many travelers planning mid-year getaways to make up for lost travel opportunities, a recent study has found.
According to Expedia Group’s first-party data from Q1 2023, traveler intent is growing steadily, with traveler searches globally across Expedia Group sites rising 25% quarter-over-quarter.
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) searches surged by 30%, the study revealed.
After the easing of travel restrictions across several countries in the Asia Pacific region, there was a significant increase of 65% YOY in searches from the region. After China lifted pandemic restrictions on January 8, there was a 10% week-over-week rise in global international search demand for China, which was led by searches from APAC (increasing 15% week-over-week) and EMEA (10% week-over-week rise).
GROWING SEARCH WINDOWS
Similar to the past few quarters, search windows continued to lengthen in Q1 2023 as travelers plan for trips further out. The over 180-day search window saw a 30% increase quarter-over-quarter, boosted by a 75% rise in Asia Pacific and Latin America.
Worldwide, the search window of 91 to 180 days recorded the strongest growth in Q1 2023, rising 60% quarter-over-quarter led by EMEA and North America (with 90% and 45% quarter-over-quarter increases, respectively).
MORE MID-YEAR GETAWAYS
There was a 50% YOY rise in search demand for mid-year getaways, driven by Asia Pacific and EMEA, up more than 120% and 40% YOY, respectively.
Travelers reported that warm weather destinations were most popular when searching for mid-year getaways, with Cancun, Palma de Mallorca Denpasar and Barcelona among the top searched destinations for travel from June to September 2023.
Many travelers look to relax by the water but not necessarily at the beach. Search results in Q1 2023 showed that the “pool” filter was among the top amenities search filter in EMEA and the second most used filter in North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
Flight searches were up 25% YOY from June to August, indicating that US passengers are looking forward to mid-year travel and interest in international destinations across Europe and Asia jumped by triple digits.
CITIES AND BEACH DESTINATIONS REMAIN POPULAR
Similar to previous quarters’ trends, big cities and beach destinations featured in the global top 10 list of booked destinations. New York City, Las Vegas and London were the leading destinations.
Across the regions, cities like Osaka, London, Paris and Taipei moved up the rankings for travelers from Asia Pacific, while Honolulu made it to the list for the first time.
Among travelers from EMEA, Tokyo and Berlin were added to the rankings, while Amsterdam, Barcelona and Rome moved up on the list.
Among Latin American travelers, Paris, Madrid and Playa del Carmen moved up the top 10 list and Punta Cana and Paris were added for the first time for travelers from North America.
Although travelers explored new inter-regional destinations by water, domestic travel continued to fuel the vacation rental segment in Q1 2023, following recent quarterly trends. New warm-weather hot spots were added to the list for travelers from North America, while beach towns in Australia featured on the top 10 list for travelers from Asia Pacific.
EAGERNESS TO TRAVEL
According to Expedia Group’s March consumer survey with Wakefield Research, 72% of travelers plan to travel for leisure more this year to make up for the previous years. About 83% of respondents are planning to travel more or the same amount as last year and 81% plan to spend more money or keep their budgets the same for a single trip compared to last year.
Many consumers seek rest and rejuvenation, with 62% saying they plan to travel in the next 12 months to disconnect and relax.
Travel reward members are especially eager to go on more trips this year, with 95% planning to travel for leisure in the next 12 months. About 77% of the respondents said they were interested in travel rewards that they can apply to any element of their vacation, regardless of brand. Additionally, 65% of consumers look for discounts when considering whether or not to join a travel rewards program.