December 2022
Sabre reveals holiday trends for 2022
Posted by TTG Asia, on 08 December 2022
Sabre’s year-end travel report shows that travel confidence has improved as well as the emerging festive destinations of choice for global travellers. Sabre analytics reveal that booking windows for the holiday period are nearing pre-pandemic levels, while the number of Christmas and New Year bookings have soared compared to last year.
Booking windows and improved confidence
Sabre’s booking trends (to the end of October) shows that 60% of bookings for the holiday period were made in September and October this year, versus 55% in 2019. While a higher percentage of bookings were made closer to the holidays this year, the gap is narrowing between 2022 and 2019.
Booking windows can be a significant metric to determining traveller confidence, as a longer booking window can indicate greater confidence. During the pandemic, there was a higher percentage of last-minute bookings due to uncertainties of travel and border restrictions. Travellers were often less keen to make advanced bookings as they were not sure if the travel situation would change by the time their departure date arrived. Now, with a more predictable travel landscape, people are more willing to make longer-term plans as it is more likely for the trip to proceed as planned.
Looking at international trips originating from the US, where travel restrictions were lifted much earlier in comparison with other regions, a clear recovery picture emerges – 29% of international festive bookings (to the end of October) were made during September and October in 2022, compared to 38% in 2021 and 27% in 2019.
In Asia, 76% of all bookings, (to the end of October) both domestic and international, for the year-end holidays this year were made in September and October, in line with when travel restrictions began to further unwind across the region. In 2019, around 55% of bookings were made in the same months. Recovery in Asia-Pacific has been particularly pronounced in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where travel restrictions have recently relaxed. Hong Kong bookings started 3Q2022 at just 16% of the same period in 2019. By the end of the third quarter, the recovery there was 29%. Taiwan did better, with the quarter starting at a 17% recovery and ending at 45%.