Amadeus Travel Pulse has revealed that, for the first four months of 2022, search volumes around the globe have been increasing, almost reaching 2019 levels. Global search volumes in the last week of April were only three per cent down versus the same period in 2019, confirming that traveler confidence and appetite to travel continues to strengthen.
There were double-digit increases in many key markets during the whole month of April, with searches from Mexico up 69 per cent, Canada up 29 per cent with the US seeing single digit growth, up by seven per cent.
Domestic searches are leading the recovery, reaching positive territory in the last week of April with a four per cent increase versus 2019. Markets such as India (up 47 per cent) and Italy (up 82 per cent) are leading the charge.
Debbie Keller, senior vice president, data and API ecosystems at Amadeus, said: “It is incredibly encouraging to see such a strong appetite for travel around the world.
“Air travel search queries are one of the important data sets we study to learn about traveler sentiment and how markets are responding to quickly changing circumstances.
“This view of the travel ecosystem can reveal a lot about traveler confidence and willingness to travel, on which Amadeus can provide thanks to our advanced data analytics tools and wide global footprint in the travel industry.”
While domestic has recovered the most, other segments are also showing real strength. Intra-regional searches in the last week of April were only four per cent down versus 2019, with impressive growth coming from the UK (up 35 per cent) and France (up 38 per cent). International search is also performing strongly.
Argentina is seeing one of the best recoveries, 24 per cent ahead of 2019 levels. Search is significantly ahead on a global scale when comparing 2021 with 2022 to date. The first four months of 2022 are on average 69 per cent ahead of the same period last year.
Looking at the monthly figures, January was 37 per cent ahead year-on-year; February 77 per cent ahead; March 67 per cent ahead. Finally, April is ahead by 94 per cent compared to the previous year’s searches.
Compared to the first four months of 2021, domestic search continues to lead the way, again, seeing a 73 per cent increase, while intra-regional search is up 72 per cent, and international search is up 61 per cent.
The data also reveals other aspects of the airline industry are returning to familiar territory. This is true for many city pairs – especially the most well-established routes around the globe.
Of the 16 most popular routes, nine of them are seeing search volumes comparable with 2019 including Delhi-Toronto (up 32 per cent), Tel Aviv-New York (up 90 per cent); Seoul-New York (up ten per cent); Buenos Aires-Madrid (up 49 per cent) and Montreal-Paris (up 60 per cent) among others.
Regional leaders are emerging in EMEA and APAC, with searches to and from London and Seoul dominating, respectively.
