Malaysia, Indonesia lead domestic travel demand recovery in Southeast Asia - Google

Google Asia Pacific travel lead Hermione Joye said staycations and travelling to meet loved ones have driven travel growth in the region, thanks to the dropping of travel restriction orders, reopening of borders, as well as the easing of quarantine and testing restrictions.

"Recovery has started to take place across the region....SEA governments are starting to get much more comfortable with the idea of people travelling and the need to travel, and what we are seeing, as a result, is that demand is picking up," she said during a virtual media roundtable on the revival of travel in SEA.

As for international demand, Joye said fast rebounds were recorded for Philippines and Indonesia, while Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are making a moderate recovery.

She said inbound travel into Malaysia from March 27 until April 2 grew by 83 per cent compared with the same period in 2019, while outbound travel increased substantially by 90 per cent during the same period.

On the broader market, she said Google internal data showed that 40 per cent share of inbound tourism from the United States and Canada went to Philippines and Vietnam, 40 per cent share of inbound from Europe were into Indonesia and Thailand, while 38 per cent share of inbound from the Middle East was to Philippines.

Malaysia and Singapore accounted for 75 per cent of inbound share from intra-region, she added.

Bali was the fastest growing market in March 2022, not only attracting tourists from the region but globally, while Bangkok ranked seventh, according to Joye.