FLIGHT BOOKINGS TO ASIA-PACIFIC UP 250% AHEAD OF CHINESE NEW YEAR DESPITE INFLATION HIGHS

SINGAPORE,Jan. 10,2023 --With a recent report indicating Asia-Pacific's travel industry may be the only one in the world to recover by 2023,this year's Chinese New Year could be cause for additional celebration. Sojern,a leading provider of digital marketing solutions for travel,shares the latest travel trends for Lunar New Year.

Singapore tops flight bookings,American travellers take advantage of the strong dollar

Looking at flight bookings the top origin countries and regions travelling to or within APAC for Chinese New Year are Singapore (16%),the United States (12%),perhaps taking advantage of last year's strong US dollar against other currencies,followed by Thailand (9%),Taiwan (8%) and Japan (7%) likely due to the long awaited loosening of their COVID-19 travel restrictions. India falls out of this year's top ten,replaced by South Korea in seventh place. For hotel bookings South Korean travellers take the top spot with 16% of all APAC bookings,then the United States (11%) moving up from sixth place,followed by Japan (10%),Hong Kong (8%) and Australia (8%).

The Land of Smiles trumps Chinese New Year travel

Southeast Asia hotspot Thailand comes out as the top destination country based on flight searches for global travellers moving from second to first place in 2023 and comprising 27% of all travel to the region this holiday. Japan (19%),Singapore (18%),dropping from first to third place,the Philippines (10%) and Malaysia (8%) make up the remainder of the top five. Singapore is the top destination country based on hotel searches for 2023 comprising 21% of all searches,followed by China (15%) and the Philippines (15%).

"While the impact of inflation in the region hit last year,our data shows travellers aren't willing to sacrifice travel this holiday season," said Lina Ang,Managing Director APAC,Sojern. "Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and hoteliers should take note of those destinations showing the most interest from inbound international and regional travellers,and use intent data to reach these potential travellers with messaging from your particular destination or property."

*This data was pulled January 3 2023

About Sojern

Sojern is the leading digital marketing platform built for travel marketers. Powered by artificial intelligence and traveller intent data,Sojern provides multichannel marketing solutions to drive direct demand. 10,000 hotels,attractions,tourism boards and travel marketers rely on Sojern annually to engage and convert travellers around the world.