SINGAPORE, 30 April 2020: Hong Kong shows the first signs of recovery, Japan will likely emerge as the “go-to destination” in 2021 and expect an uptick of flight bookings to Fiji says Sojern, a digital travel marketing provider.
These are the trends identified in Sojern’s latest ‘Covid-19: Insights on Travel Impact for APAC’ that was part of a webinar presentation that went live Wednesday.
Sojern notes that APAC flight searches and “bookings continue their plateau”. However, there are signs that some Asia-Pacific countries such as China, South Korea, and Vietnam are looking to relax their lockdowns or are already doing so.
“In the past week, we saw a major airline going into administration in Australia. Singapore Airlines said that it would halt most flights until the end of June, but we noticed some upticks – such as more flight bookings to Fiji – but overall, all countries are showing that flight searches and bookings are well down year-over-year.
“While no-one can anticipate the full impact, our data can provide some insight into how travellers are responding to the current situation, the more long-term impact that COVID-19 will have on destinations, and when the first signs of recovery start to appear.”
Singapore circuit breaker
Within the Asia Pacific, it is clear that Singapore will not be easing lockdown restrictions. The government announced a further four weeks of semi-lockdown (circuit-breaker) as there has been no evidence to show that the country’s infection rate has peaked.
“As such, we see that hotel searches and bookings are way down year-over-year, especially from international origins,” Sojern concludes.
However, it sees hints of recovery in Hong Kong, where authorities are now considering easing social-distancing measures following a dramatic reduction in Covid-19 cases in the last week.
But the easing of lockdown restrictions remains very gradual. The government has issued an advisory that all travellers arriving into Hong Kong will be tested twice upon arrival – once after entering Hong Kong and again at the end of the mandatory two-week isolation.
Into the Future with Japan
While it is clear that bookings are down, traveller sentiment appears to be changing when monitoring what future dates people are willing to travel.
“We see a clear uptick in travel to Japan in 2021. This could be linked to returning confidence in Japan or that the Tokyo Olympics, which initially was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic is now scheduled to convene 23 July next year.”
Sojern reviews data on a weekly basis in order to provide a regular view of trends and patterns in consumer behaviour.
