Destinations known | Asia-Pacific’s winners and losers as tourists satisfy pent-up demand for travel
- The tourism industry is talking up the prospects of travel rebounding to exceed pre-pandemic levels. Some places are more ready than others to receive visitors
- In Asia-Pacific four countries are ahead of the pack, with Hong Kong in last place. Entry restrictions will be among the biggest factors, one analysis finds
“The pent-up demand for travel”. It’s a phrase we’re hearing more and more in reference to the expected – and in some places unfolding – rush back to pre-Covid patterns of travel and tourism.
The prevailing view is that the recovery in the travel sector will continue apace even though, in the words of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, “the Russian invasion of Ukraine adds pressure to existing economic uncertainties, coupled with many Covid-related travel restrictions still in place”.
Even rising oil costs and the increasing understanding of the damage we do to the climate are surmountable in the rush to regain, or even surpass, 2019 levels of fun and frolics.
Other articles warn that “Pent-up travel demand could lead to holiday headaches”, citing problems associated with large numbers of people suddenly wishing to make use of travel infrastructure that has been degraded during the Covid-19 shutdowns.
