Asia Pacific villa rental market bouncing back

According to research by American Express, 74% of travellers are more willing to book a trip, even if they have to change or cancel it later on.

Mastercard’s Travel 2022: Trends and Transitions showed that domestic travel is still fuelling leisure travel in Asia Pacific, growing by 196.3% by the end of April 2022.

However, international trips are gradually catching up: by the end of March 2022, long-haul and medium-haul flights surpassed 2019 levels, while short-haul flights are still slightly behind.

Villa Finder has also seen similar trends among Asia destinations. The number of villa requests has been growing exponentially. In March 2022, the number of requests was still down by 33.63% as compared to 2019.

However, in April, it shrunk to just 5.66% below pre-pandemic levels.

Holiday villa platform Villa Finder has been tracking latest intent and booking trends in Asia Pacific’s vacation rental market

Some destinations are doing better than others. Indonesia has recovered to above 2019 levels, while Thailand and Sri Lanka are still lagging behind. This is due to lingering travel restrictions in Thailand as well as the unrest in Sri Lanka.

The number of villa bookings are also still not quite at 2019 levels yet. However, the growth trend is clear and follows the trends of villa requests.

Travel businesses in APAC are dependent on each country’s restrictions.

As the Omicron wave passed and restrictions eased, the number of flight bookings have been increasing in Singapore, provided that the destination country also removes border restrictions.

• To Australia: +143.5%
• To Thailand: +119.9%
• To Malaysia: +99.3%
• To Indonesia: +72.1%
• To India: +58%
• To Vietnam: +32.9%

Villa stays are heavily dependent on the regulations of the destnation. The number of requests for Bali villas increased significantly after the Indonesian government loosened travel curbs.

Travellers are ready to spend more and staying longer

A November 2021 report by the World Travel & Tourism Council and Trip.com stated that 70% of holidaymakers across the US, UK, Spain, Japan and Canada would spend more on their leisure trips in 2022 than they had spent in the past five years.

They plan to spend on upgrading accommodations, and going to more expensive destinations. They also want to stay longer in a destination to fully experience it.

Villa Finder’s data saw an increase of 15.05% in the average booking value in APAC destinations. The average length of stay has increased by 26.65% from 2019 to 2022.

Travellers are more conscious of their impact.

Vacationers are also more conscious about their impact on the environment and the local community. In a survey conducted by Virtuoso, 82% of travellers stated that the pandemic had made them want to travel more responsibly. 70% indicated that their experience would be enhanced if they travel sustainably. Also, 78% would choose businesses that have strong sustainability policies.

Villa guests’ travel styles

Multi-generation Family Trips

Villa Finder is seeing an increase in family and group travel. Zicasso reported that the number of bookings for groups of six or more people increased by 57% as compared to 2019.

Luxury, Relaxation, Unique Experiences

41% of Skyscanner’s Horizon respondents reported that they would spend more on ultimate relaxation in 2022 compared to 2019. Bucket list destinations is the second most popular type of trip, with 37% of travellers stating that they would spend their money on these destinations.

Wellness Trips

The Global Wellness Institute projected the wellness travel market would grow by 10% per year, reaching $7 trillion in 2025 After the pandemic, people are becoming more health-conscious and prioritising their wellbeing in various ways, including travel. Primary wellness travellers are motivated by wellness trips like silent retreats, yoga, meditation retreats.

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