Tourism is on the track to reach the pre-pandemic levels but with each year the tendencies are evolving. While tourists are searching for convenient ways to book their travel, companies are looking for ways to improve their efficiency and generate more business from travelers, writes eToro analyst for Romania, Bogdan Maioreanu.
International tourism recovered 84% of pre-pandemic levels during January-July 2023 period following a strong second quarter and early part of the Northern Hemisphere summer season, according to the World Tourism Organization Barometer. International tourist arrivals hit 85% of pre-pandemic levels in Q2 2023 and 90% in July 2023. An estimated 700 million tourists travelled internationally between January and July 2023, about 43% more than in the same months of 2022, though 16% fewer than in 2019.
Not all regions recovered at the same pace. The Middle East saw the best growth in January-July 2023, with arrivals exceeding by 20% pre-pandemic levels. Europe, the world’s largest destination region, reached 91% of pre-pandemic levels, supported by robust intra-regional demand. But there are significant differences within our continent – while the summer popular Southern – Mediterranean region exceeded the 2019 arrivals level by 1%, Central and Eastern Europe has seen a slower recovery and is still at 71% of the pre-pandemic tourist arrivals. Africa recovered 92% of pre-pandemic levels during this seven-month period and the Americas 87%. In Asia and the Pacific arrivals only climbed to 61% of pre-pandemic levels.
But the tourism landscape becomes increasingly complicated and crowded. A study presented last week during International Tourism Day shows that 66% of tourists prefer travelling to countries that provide familiarity, while 67% tend to travel to destinations that they have previously visited or have heard about through their network, such as via family and friends. This is consistent with previous studies which found that 80% of tourists visit just 10% of the world’s tourism destinations and this is overcrowding those popular spots.
Specialists from the industry are seeing however, an evolution next year in the “bleisure” area – business and leisure with people travelling for business using the opportunity for some tourism too. Also gastronomic tourism is set to explode with travellers searching for tasting experiences beside the sightseeing. Another trend is sustainable tourism and the return of the rail holiday.
Tourism is also moving faster toward online and even AI. Online travel booking had a $475 billion market size in 2022 and it is estimated to hit $833 billion in 2025 and over one trillion in 2030. In 2022, 68% of travel and tourism sales were done online. It is said by 2026, 73% of revenue for the travel and tourism market will be made online. Smartphones are the most frequently used device (70%) for holiday booking.
We are also seeing the increased usage of AI doing automatic bookings but also for interacting with potential clients. For investors, tourism growth is good news. So far, the Dow Jones Travel & Tourism Index (DJUSTT) is up over 55%, and the biggest online booking companies’ stocks are showing important gains this year, with AirBNB up 62%, Booking.com 51%, and Expedia 18%.
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