Airline travel in Asia set to hit two-thirds of pre-Covid level: report

Asia’s tourism industry has been resilient amid the global macroeconomic slowdown, research from JP Morgan shows.

Photo credit: Elena Hruleva

Titled Asia Airlines and Airports, the report projects that airline travel in the region will hit two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year.

Thailand, which is poised to meet its 2022 foreign arrivals target of 10 million tourists, has been an especially strong market in the region. As of October-end this year, the country had seen 7.56 million visitors.

Japan’s efforts to revive inbound tourism to pre-pandemic levels by 2025 have also bolstered the sector’s revival. The country is betting on international events such as the 2025 World Expo to draw 60 million annual visitors per annum by 2030.

As discussed at the ASEAN summit in Cambodia earlier this month, the Southeast Asian region is looking to attract 152 million tourists by 2025 and 187 million tourists by 2030.

These numbers align with pre-pandemic forecasts – the region was expecting 123 million foreign visitors each year before the breakout.

China’s National Health Commission also announced it was easing travel restrictions, which includes shortening its quarantine regulations for foreign travelers.

China’s international flight activity has been recovering, having doubled since June. Its global flights are poised to surge 106% year on year, while the number of domestic flights will likely hold steady over the next six months.

The travel sector’s comeback is supported by a 57% year-on-year surge in global passenger traffic – 74% of pre-pandemic levels – as per a report from the International Air Transport Association for September 2022.

The Asia Pacific experienced the greatest uptick as travel shot up 456% year on year.

See also: Can Traveloka, AirAsia break into Indonesia’s food delivery duopoly?

Overall, the Southeast Asian travel sector appears healthy. Singapore-based tourism booking site Klook saw a 300% rise in quarterly revenue, with searches on its platform going up 140% year on year.

Malaysia’s Capital A also witnessed a 1,925% year-on-year increase in passengers in the third quarter of this year, with a 161% rise in the number of AirAsia super app users from last year.