ForwardKeys: Flight Bookings for Travel to Europe Slightly Behind pre-Covid Levels

Photo source: WTTC

Destinations in Europe such as Iceland, Greece, Portugal, Spain and France are showing a strong resurgence of travel with bookings just slightly behind pre-pandemic levels, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said on Friday.

Citing ForwardKeys data during its 21st Global Summit in Manila, the WTTC referred to a “booking bounce back” for key destinations across Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas as the world continues to reopen from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“WTTC 2022 booking data from ForwardKeys is a firm signal of the strong recovery of the global Travel & Tourism sector,” Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said.

According to the data, Q1 and Q2 figures for this year are showing triple-digit growth for inbound flight bookings around the world, compared to last year, including the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Resurgence in travel was shown in arrivals in Europe for Q1 in 2022, with a massive 350 percent surge in international arrivals compared to the same period last year.

Photo source: European Commission

Asia-Pacific countries also saw an increase in arrivals for Q1 of this year compared to 2021, with bookings for the region up 275 percent.

“Travel to the Asia-Pacific region shows impressive signs of improvement as destinations gradually reopen their borders to visitors, in line with customer demand,” Simpson said.

Caribbean and Latin America leading international inbound bookings

ForwardKeys data showed that the summer travel outlook is led by the resurgence of travel to the Caribbean and Latin America.

The countries leading the best performing destinations for the summer are Costa Rica, Aruba, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, with bookings already surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

Turning to Africa and the Middle East, ForwardKeys data showed that Tanzania, Qatar and Egypt were also reaching close to pre-pandemic levels of travel.

Moreover, the data showed that travellers are eager to spend more on travel in 2022 following the loosening of restrictions, with heightened demand for premium cabin classes in 2022. Other trends seen include stronger last-minute bookings.