Asia Pacific has been a favored travel destination for tourists over the years. The culturally and geographically diverse region has welcomed visitors from around the world every year and has been a crowd favorite since before the pandemic. The past decade has also seen a dramatic rise in domestic and international tourist arrivals, with the region earning a reputation as a trendy destination for its natural landscapes and attractions.
According to the latest study by Trip.com, the volume of inbound travelers is projected to grow throughout 2023 and 2024, soaring 94% compared to 2022.
In terms of tourism growth across this region, the OTA has analyzed the booking trends to popular destinations, like Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, and has recorded high search figures for this region.
JAPAN
Trip.com Group has recently strengthened its partnerships with stakeholders to position Japan as a leading destination. Japan has featured consistently among the top five destinations globally in terms of bookings and search volumes since tourist entry restrictions were relaxed in Q4 2022.
According to Trip.com data, global hotel bookings for arrivals between March 15 and June 30 soared 237% YOY. Global flight bookings also surged 317% (2022-2023) for travelers in the same period. In Europe, the most popular flight routes were from London to Tokyo and Paris to Tokyo.
The top three cities visited in Japan, as per Trip.com, were Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.
SOUTH KOREA
Looking to attract tourists and boost exports, South Korea hopes to welcome 10 million international tourists in 2023. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, in 2019, a record 17.5 million foreign tourists visited the country, generating revenue worth $20.7 billion.
Data from Trip.com revealed that global hotel bookings for arrivals between March 15 to June 30 rose YOY by 51%. Flight bookings from Europe (the U.K., Italy, France, Spain and Germany) soared 456% YOY (2022-2023) for arrivals in the same period. The most popular routes were from London to Seoul and Paris to Seoul.
The most popular destinations in the country were Seoul, followed by Jeju Island.
HONG KONG
China’s decision to reopen borders to international travelers in December 2022 saw Hong Kong becoming one of the top five tourist destinations for outbound visitors from mainland China.
The most popular destinations within Hong Kong were Hong Kong Disneyland, Ngong Ping 360 (a cable car experience in the green hills) and Jurassic Dinosaur Adventure Park.
Global hotel bookings for arrivals between March 15 to June 30 saw a 13% increase YOY from 2022 to 2023. Flight bookings from Europe skyrocketed by 1,362% YOY from 2022 to 2023 during the same period.
The U.K. to Hong Kong was the most popular route, followed by Germany-Hong Kong.
The top five tourist destinations were mainland China, Singapore, the U.K. and Canada.