16-10-2023 (BANGKOK) Despite a gradual resumption of seat capacity, the majority of Thai travellers continue to rely on online platforms for air ticket bookings, while bookings to Thailand have seen an increase following the pandemic, according to online travel agents.
Caesar Indra, president of Traveloka, revealed that air ticket bookings were the primary service used by Thais on their platform, with tourists showing a preference for less popular destinations, a trend observed across various Asian markets.
He further noted that inbound flight bookings to Thailand had surged by five times during the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
However, the resumption of international flights this year has been slower than expected, as the aviation industry in many countries grapples with staff shortages, striving to rehire workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), international revenue-passenger kilometres for Asia-Pacific air traffic witnessed a 98.5% increase in August compared to the previous year. However, it still remained 24.5% lower than the corresponding period in 2019, making it the slowest region in terms of recovery.
In terms of seat capacity in the Asia-Pacific region, international available seat kilometres in August were 25.8% lower than the 2019 figures.
Nevertheless, IATA reported that the average load factor for airlines in the region had increased by 5.5 percentage points to 84.2%, indicating a growing demand for travel.
Mr Indra highlighted that Traveloka had recorded 45 million monthly active users since its establishment 11 years ago, with 127 million application downloads.
He also noted that a significant trend following the pandemic was a higher demand for accommodations with sustainable practices. According to a customer survey conducted by Traveloka this year, 80% of their customers preferred to book certified sustainable lodging.
However, Mr Indra pointed out that 43% of hotels listed on the platform lacked sustainability certification, particularly from well-known sources such as the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. He emphasized the need for more hotels to cater to the growing demand for sustainable accommodations.
Rezio, a travel booking system under the Taiwan-based KKday Group, released its travel trends and consumer insights report based on data collected from 2020 to the first half of 2023.
The report revealed a two-fold increase in travel bookings to Thailand compared to 2019.
Regarding destinations, Japan emerged as the top country for Asian tourists, experiencing a 30% increase in bookings from foreign tourists after the reopening of its borders.
South Korean tourists embarked on the most outbound trips, with Japan and Taiwan being their preferred destinations.
