ForwardKeys: US Travelers Driving Global Tourism Recovery in 2022

The US was a top source market that drove tourism’s global recovery last year, found the “2022 Most Visited Destinations Report” of ForwardKeys, a travel intelligence provider.

Founded in 2010, ForwardKeys has over the years developed a comprehensive database of air travel bookings in the industry offering detailed information on traveler profiles to tourism stakeholders.

According to the company’s report, US travelers were essential to the recovery of regional tourism even in 2021 – the Caribbean achieved success in 2021 largely due to the US market – while international departures from the US in 2022 were just 19 percent shy of 2019 figures, with sun and beach destinations in the Caribbean and Europe driving this recovery.

Overall, Europe fell only 17 percent behind a full recovery in 2022, a positive event which was largely attributed to the US lifting the ban on incoming European travelers in November 2021, which normalized bilateral traveler flows.

Source: ForwardKeys.

Additionally, favorable US dollar – Euro conversion rates last year, as well as the mass appeal Europe’s culture, history and scenery has to US travelers, drove demand for travel to Europe.

This was an important element in the decision-making process, as travelers consider the cost of airfares, accommodation and activities as well as issues related to inflation, before booking a trip.

Long-haul travel to Europe was particularly popular during the 2022 summer season with a preference to Mediterranean sun and beach destinations such as Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Spain.

Photo © Greek Travel Pages (GTP)

However, ForwardKeys data also show an increasing interest in other types of nature escapes, with destinations such as Switzerland, Ireland and Iceland also experiencing an influx of arrivals from the US.

The travel agency provider had presented part of its report during last November’s World Travel Market (WTM) in London, where Greece was among the Top 20 Best Performing Destinations for 2022.