Expedia Q3 Report Shows New York City is APAC Traveler Favorite …
“Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today
I want to be a part of it: New York, New York …”
(From “New York, New York”—John Kander & Fred Ebb)
A funny thing happened on our way to finding out which destination cities were the favorites of travelers from the Asia Pacific (APAC) region of the world. We learned, or deduced, that more of those who actually booked travel to top destination cities in the world’s four regions—APAC (Asia-Pacific), Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), Latin America (LATAM) and North America (NORAM) from—put New York City in their top ten cities booked.
This is significant because (1) New York is the only city to be a top-ten favorite in all four world regions when AIPAC travelers are booking; and (2) AIPAC nations include China, India, and Indonesia—three of the world’s four largest by population. (3.1 billion out of a total world population of 7.9 billion. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ )
Top 10 Booked Destinations
Third Quarter 2021
| APAC | EMEA | LATAM | NORAM |
| Seoul | London | Mexico City | New York |
| Seogwipo | Dubai | New York | Las Vegas |
| Tokyo | Paris | Cancun | Los Angeles |
| Busan | Istanbul | Rio de Janeiro* | Orlando |
| Jeju City | Copenhagen | São Paulo* | Chicago |
| New York* | Stockholm | Las Vegas | Cancun |
| Shanghai | Barcelona | Playa del Carmen | Boston* |
| Naha* | Berlin* | Paris* | San Diego |
| Sapporo* | New York | Madrid* | Honolulu |
| London* | Edinburgh* | Los Angeles* | Denver* |
* New Top 10 Destination
Source: Expedia Group media solutions
The data above are contained in Expedia’s “5 Key Trends for Asia Pacific Travelers in Q3.”
Following is a quick summary of the trends discussed in the report, which is authored by Celine Wickerhoff.
1. APAC travelers were cautious about traveling … until borders opened in September. When looking at search data for APAC-based travelers, there’s a marked difference between the first two months of the quarter and September. In July and August interest in travel dipped by 10 percent compared to the previous quarter as a number of travel restrictions were applied across the region.
2. Pandemic developments impacted their destination choices. One of the most noticeable aspects when comparing APAC’s search and booking data is how clearly the impact of COVID developments at the time impacted the trends. Interest in Osaka and Hong Kong made them newcomers to the most-searched list. So did the two major international destinations of New York and London.
3. They booked less time into the future. Mirroring the trend seen globally, and in every region bar LATAM, travelers in APAC booked trips with increasingly shorter lead times: bookings 3 weeks or less prior to travel grew to account for 65 percent of all bookings, up from 60 percent in Q2. This would seem to fit with the idea that the region’s travelers retained a cautious outlook, preferring to plan less time into an unpredictable future.
4. They did book more for November and December, but without the holiday search frenzy.
As highlighted in the global report, considerable interest and booking volumes for the seasonal period encompassing U.S. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve were a notable factor in Q3 in North America and EMEA. Understandably, given the cultural differences in much of the APAC region the dynamic was not quite the same – but still very positive. Bookings from APAC travelers for trips in November and December grew by triple digits compared to the same months in 2020.
5. They didn’t travel as much for business. Based on demand seen on the Egencia corporate travel brand, business travel in APAC went against the global trend and fell back, by 45 percent, in Q3 versus the previous quarter. However, that was still 50% more than in Q3 2020, so progress is still being seen. When people in APAC did travel for business, it tended to be to the big commercial cities of China and India. Of the region’s top 10 most in-demand cities in Q3, five were located in India (New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad) and three were in China (Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen).
Click here to access the Expedia Q3 on APAC’s five trends report.
