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Asia Pacific has been known for its popular travel destinations, such as Bali and Singapore, and its strong business presence, making it the world’s largest travel region for the past decade.
However, due to the sluggish drop of Covid entry restrictions in countries like China and Japan, air travel in the Asia Pacific region remains significantly lower compared to pre-pandemic levels.
According to a recent report by the Centre for Aviation (CAPA), Europe is predicted to surpass Asia Pacific as the world’s largest travel region by the end of 2022.
CAPA states that Asian Pacific air traffic is currently 45% lower than pre-pandemic levels, whereas European air travel has recovered to approximately 85% of its pre-pandemic levels.
Despite the continued impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, CAPA highlights that European air travel has shown a significant recovery.
In 2019, Asia Pacific airports handled 3.38 billion passengers, while the current predictions from ACI Asia-Pacific estimate that by the end of 2022, the number will decrease to 1.84 billion passengers.
ACI Asia-Pacific and CAPA attribute this slow recovery to China’s “zero-Covid” border policy and Japan’s gradual easing of travel restrictions, although Japan is scheduled to reopen to tourists on October 11.
China and Japan, being two of the top travel markets in the region, have a significant impact on the overall recovery of the Asia Pacific travel industry, according to CAPA.
With the exception of a few countries like India, which is only 11% below its 2019 travel figures, most destinations in Asia Pacific are still experiencing travel levels that are 50% or more lower than in 2019.
As per CAPA, domestic travel within the Asia Pacific region is recovering at a faster pace compared to international travel, with domestic travel in China being only 5.4% lower than 2019 levels.
Overall, CAPA predicts a full recovery to pre-pandemic travel numbers in the Asia Pacific region is unlikely until the end of 2023 or early 2024.
The report emphasizes that the recovery is dependent on countries reopening their borders and lifting travel restrictions, in addition to the economic and epidemiological conditions at that time.
CAPA advocates for the harmonization of international travel rules, political commitment to openness and freedom of movement, and continued vaccination efforts to facilitate travel recovery.
