The travel association has shared its latest ‘PATA Polls’ results which have revealed 70% of PATA’s agent network has reported strong Q1 bookings for the Pacific Asia region, a 20% year on year increase.
‘PATA Polls’ is a collection of short surveys where PATA’s travel network provides expert knowledge and insights into a variety of topics. This month, the poll focused on the Peaks 2023 booking period in the Pacific Asia region, and the future booking forecast.
70% of agents reported a strong Q1 booking period, and the research revealed that Pacific Asia is outperforming most other regions in terms of popularity, with the exception of Europe, at 42.86%. The region was ranked higher than the Middle East (28.57%), the US (23.8%) and Africa (19.05%).
Within the Pacific Asia region, Thailand has received the most enquiries, cited by 61.9% of agents. Other popular locations include Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
It seems that higher travel costs are still a major deterrent when it comes to holiday bookings, as 66.67% of agents say that their customers’ financial concerns remain one of the key driving forces behind their decisions. In second place, travel agents ranked hotel and flight availability as another issue impacting bookings (42.86%)
Chairman of PATA UK & Ireland, Chris Crampton, commented: “The PATA Polls data suggests a strong year for the region even in the face of diverse challenges including the economic situation. We look forward to further good news as flight capacity continues to return, as already witnessed in Thailand and Australia, both of which are already back to 80% pre-pandemic international arrivals.”
