WTTC Foresees Major Increase in Global International Inbound Travel

0
1315

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has forecasted a massive increase in global international flights bookings as international travel takes off.

The arrivals in Europe registered an increase of 350 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to last year. According to WTTC, in the second quarter, Europe will continue to post a significant rise in international bookings.

Only until now, the second quarter has seen an increase of 264 percent compared to the same period last year, 

The list of European destinations that are currently showing a strong resurgence with travel bookings and which are expected to register high numbers of tourists in the upcoming months are Iceland, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and France.

Apart from Europe, Asia-Pacific countries also saw an increase in tourist arrivals for the first quarter of this year, with bookings for the regions up by 275 percent.

“WTTC 2022 booking data from ForwardKeys is a firm signal of the strong recovery of the global Travel & Tourism sector. Travel to the Asia-Pacific region shows impressive signs of improvement as destinations gradually reopen their borders to visitors, in line with customer demand,” WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson said.

WTTC explains that the first quarter and second-quarter figures for this year show triple-digit growth for inbound flight bookings all over the world compared to last year, including Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

ForwardKeys Vice President Insights, Olivier Ponti, also commented on the positive developments. He said that it is very encouraging to see that the majority of destinations, especially Asia, have finally begun to reopen for travellers.

“It is very encouraging that Asia has finally begun re-opening, 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,” the statement of Ponti reads.

The rise in international booking has been particularly notable in Asia, mainly due to the COVID-19 restrictions being eased.

Apart from the above-mentioned, destinations in the Americas are also expected to rank at the top of the best 20 best performed for this summer. Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Aruba, and Jamaica are expected to register the highest numbers of arrivals.

Africa and the Middle East also feature in the top 20 list, with Qatar, Tanzania, and Egypt also reaching close to the pre-pandemic levels.

Other summer holiday destinations will also register positive trends in the upcoming months.