Global Outbound Travel Up by 90% in 2022, Says ITB-IPK Study

A beach on Maldives.

Almost 700 million trips were made in 2022 reflecting a 90 percent increase in outbound travel, found the IPK World Travel Monitor released this week by ITB Berlin and IPK International.

According to the data, international tourism made a significant recovery last year with outbound travel almost doubling but still not reaching pre-Covid 2019 levels (currently at 66 percent of pre-crisis levels).

International trips came closer to 2019 levels in Europe and the US with travel from Europe up by 92 percent and from North America by 87 percent.

Report analysts said that there were still variations at destinations and travel markets. Outbound travel last year was highest in the US, followed by Germany and the UK.

A beach on Cyprus.

The most popular destination last year was the Maldives, followed by Dubai and Cyprus.

In terms of holiday types, sun and beach destinations topped the list growing by 90 percent and accounting for an overall market share of 35 percent, followed by city breaks and holidays in nature.

In terms of international trip duration in 2022, average length of stay was almost the same as pre-Covid but spending per person and trip rose significantly reaching 165 euros. According to the report finings, higher travel spending resulted from increased travel costs caused by inflation and reduced availability of flights and services.

Source: IPK International.

Looking ahead, the IPK World Travel Monitor expects interest in travel abroad to remain consistently high in 2023 despite the cost-of-living crisis and geopolitical instability.

“This positive trend will continue in 2023 and globally the outbound travel figures for 2019 are within reach, at least as far as the majority of source markets, travel destinations and markets are concerned,” said the report.

ITB Berlin 2023 will open on Tuesday, March 7, under the slogan “Open for Change” and run through to March 9.