Asia Pacific and Europe dominate top destination rankings

The Asia-Pacific region and Europe dominate the list of top 10 travel destinations, according to the Mastercard Economics Institute’s (MEI) Travel Trends 2024 report.

The report, which provides “comprehensive insights into the … travel industry across 74 markets”, found that tourism spending remains robust, and that passenger traffic is rising. This is despite “fluctuating exchange rates and varying levels of affordability”.

MEI anticipated that “this momentum will continue as consumers around the world prioritise meaningful experiences and allocate more of their budgets to travel”.

Japan emerged as the top trending destination for the year preceding March 2024, welcoming almost 3.1 million visitors from abroad in March 2024 alone. This was in part driven by a favourable exchange rate due to a weak yen.

Additionally, four other countries in the Asia-Pacific region – Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, and Indonesia – were in the top 10 list this year, in sixth, seventh, eighth and 10th places respectively.

European destinations also remained strong in the same period, with the second, third, fourth, and fifth places being occupied by Ireland, Romania, Italy, and Spain.

The only country from outside the two regions to make it into the top 10 this year was the United Arab Emirates, in ninth place.

Travel from India boosted by a growing middle class

The MEI report found that more Indians are travelling internationally than ever before – a trend it stated was “strengthened by a burgeoning middle class, additional route capacity, and a strong desire to travel”.

In the first three months of 2024, 97 million passengers travelled through Indian airports – a figure that the report notes would have taken “a whole year to achieve” a decade ago. International traffic from India is up 4% compared with 2019 levels as of March 2024, while domestic travel is up 21%.

The report also noted that there were a number of trends guiding tourism in Asia Pacific. In particular, it noted that tourists from mainland China were increasingly prioritising domestic trips over international ones. However, international tourist traffic leaving China continues to recover, and is now at 80.3% of 2019 levels.

“Consumers in the Asia-Pacific region have an intense desire and willingness to travel and are becoming increasingly savvy to ensure they get the best value and unforgettable experiences from their trips,” said David Mann, Chief Economist, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “In today’s economy, foreign exchange rates and spending power have become vital components in driving a traveller’s assessment of value when they are making their plans. This suggests that businesses targeting tourism dollars need to review their current strategies, and shift them if necessary, to maintain their appeal to travellers.”

US comparison site Squaremouth has reported that the average cost of a comprehensive travel insurance policy is US$595.