Travel within Asia has seen robust growth during 2023 with arrivals to many countries having reached or surpassed pre-pandemic levels. For booking platforms such as Klook, the return of tourism is exciting, although how people find and reserve experiences has changed noticeably in recent times.
“Overall, the travel industry is powering forward and we are seeing robust cross-border travel growth – as our bookings have more than doubled since pre-covid levels,” Klook Chief Commercial Officer Wilfred Fan said during the Arival Activate event in June. “The Asia growth story continues and is surprising people each day – most destinations in Asia have achieved full recovery, returning to 2019 levels. Japan continues to break new records – it has been the top inbound destination for the last three months. Demand has been mostly driven within Asia via travelers from South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.”
While cross-border travelers are more active than they have been in years, how they find their next destination and book things like hotels and experiences has changed drastically. This is especially true for millennials and Gen Z’ers.
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“In parallel, travelers are looking at new ways of discovery and search for travel inspiration with social media now one of the primary means they find inspiration. This is mainly driven by the millennial and Gen Z segments,” Fan noted. “There has been a paradigm shift in terms of how consumers are booking experiences post-pandemic – driven by the discovery habits of millennials and Gen Zs. Operators need to be acutely aware of this transition of user behavior and prioritize content if they want to take advantage in the long run.”
Having recognized the transition, Klook altered its approach and continues to invest in digital content as a way to ensure it remains a leader in the travel booking industry.
“As the pioneers of social commerce in the travel industry, we are doubling down on investing in a new era of digital discovery to capture a new generation of travelers,” Fan concluded.
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