Traveloka reports surge in Thailand travel bookings amid slow aviation recovery

Travel bookings to Thailand have seen a significant surge, according to online travel agent Traveloka. The company’s president, Caesar Indra, highlighted that despite the slow recovery of the aviation sector, Thais have predominantly utilised their platform for air ticket bookings, veering towards less frequented destinations. This trend has been mirrored across numerous Asian markets.

Indra reported a fivefold increase in inbound flight bookings to Thailand within the first half of this year, in comparison to the same period in the previous year. However, the revival of international flights this year was slower than anticipated.

The global aviation industry has struggled with staff shortages, as they attempt to coax workers back who lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) supports this, indicating a 98.5% increase in international revenue-passenger kilometres for Asia-Pacific air traffic in August year-on-year. Nonetheless, this figure remained 24.5% lower than the same period in 2019, constituting the slowest recovery across all regions.

Regarding seat capacity in the Asia-Pacific region, international available seat kilometres in August were still trailing the 2019 figures by 25.8%. However, the average load factor for airlines in this region saw an improvement of 5.5 percentage points to 84.2%, suggesting a growth in travel demand.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, sustainable accommodation has become a prominent trend, according to Traveloka.

The company’s recent customer survey revealed that 80% of its clientele preferred to reserve certified sustainable lodging. Despite this, Indra noted that approximately 43% of hotels listed on their platform lacked sustainability certification from reputable sources such as the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

Meanwhile, Rezio, a travel booking system under the Taiwan-based KKday Group, reported a twofold increase in Thailand’s travel bookings compared to 2019.

Their report on travel trends and consumer insights, compiled from data collected from 2020 to the first half of 2023, revealed Japan as the leading country for Asian tourists, experiencing a 30% increase in bookings from foreign tourists post-reopening of its borders.

South Korean tourists were identified as the most frequent outbound travellers, with Japan and Taiwan as their preferred destinations, reported Bangkok Post.

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