Travel industry is hopeful that 2022 will be a banner year for travel as restrictions and lockdowns are easing around the world. In spite of the emergence of the Omicron variant which kept many peple from traveling in the fourth quarter of 2021, it did not stop them from dreaming about — and planning — future trips.
Expedia Group Media Solution’s Q4 2021 Travel Recovery Trend Report, summaries on how travel is returning and includes actionable insights to help capture demand for destinations, accommodations, transportation, and other industry segments.
Appetite for Travel Is Growing
Despite a few setbacks in the immediate wake of the Omicron variant’s emergence, global search volume was up 70 percent compared to 2020, boosted by countries reopening and an overall easing of border restrictions.
According to the report, 81 percent of travellers are planning to take a leisure trip in the next six months, and one in five plan on taking three or more.
Long-Haul Destinations Are in Demand
Travellers continue to search for and book destinations outside of their home regions, a trend first identified in the second quarter of 2021.
Latin America-based travellers led this trend, with five out of their top 10 most in-demand destinations located in other parts of the world. For people living in the Asia-Pacific region, two long-haul destinations were Dubai and Honolulu.
Vacation Rentals Are Still Popular
The most popular accommodation types among travellers throughout the pandemic was Vacation rentals and it continued to gain more share of all lodging bookings in Q4 compared to Q3 especially for domestic markets..
Loyalty Program Use Is Up
Looking ahead to 2022, loyalty programs will play an increasingly important role as travellers make decisions about where to go. Expedia Group’s Traveller Value Index found that 40 percent of travellers intend to use loyalty points for trips this year.
Even though loyalty programs need upfront costs, travel marketers consider them as a worthwhile customer acquisition investment that generates repeat bookings.
Let’s hope the above positive indicators actually work out and that 2022 really brings good news to all those who are connected to the travel industry.
Author: Manoj .S
Manoj works as Team Lead in Teknokraaft and looks into the Flights vertical primarily.