Booking.com Executive on What the Endemic Asian Traveler Looks Like
Photo Credit: Booking.com notes a significant pent-up demand for travel in Asia. pixabay / Michelle_Raponi
Skift Take
Backed by significant travel demand, Booking.com is confident about travel returning to Asian destinations. However, China's quarantine and Japan's reopening trepidations stand in the way of a full recovery.
As countries in Asia-Pacific have been slower to open borders than other destinations, the region’s road to recovery hasn’t really been a smooth one.
However, Booking.com is seeing a much quicker recovery in the region now, finally mirroring the trends it is tracking from across the rest of the world.
In conversation with Skift, Laura Houldsworth, Booking.com’s managing director and vice president for Asia Pacific, talks about these healthy booking trends and about the online travel agency’s “strategic partnerships” in the region.
The comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Skift: Based on the bookings that you've received what are some of the trends coming up in Asia?
Laura Houldsworth: With restrictions lifting, high vaccination rates and the summer peak for travel, we will continue to see heightened demand. Our first quarter earnings showed that we had our best first quarter ever, surpassing our best previou
