China ended its zero-Covid policy in December 2022, opening up domestic leisure travel for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Then, at the beginning of 2023, China re-opened its borders for international tourists without strict quarantine requirements.

As a result, rebound travel demand has spiked for travelers both in China and in the broader APAC region.

 

Demand for China Hotels

Travel demand for inbound travel to China has sharply increased since travel restrictions ended; this trend is likely to continue throughout 2023.

 

January – April of 2023 saw a 135% increase in metasearch demand for hotels in China, compared to the same period in 2022, demonstrating eagerness to travel to China. The Top 10 Chinese cities experiencing the highest demand in January through April of 2023 have all experienced substantial growth in demand relative to the same period in 2022.

City	YoY Demand Change	City	YoY Demand Change
Guangzhou	383%	Suzhou	147%
Shenzhen	216%	Qingdao	120%
Xiamen	198%	Beijing	112%
Foshan	182%	Chengdu	91%
Shanghai	169%	Hangzhou	82%

 

Since China opened its borders to the international community, Hong Kong, the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore have expressed the most interest in Chinese tourism, and demand from these travelers has substantially increased since Q2 2022.

 

Demand in APAC

Certain destinations in the broader APAC region have experienced increases in demand compared to 2022. Similar to demand to China, we expect this trend to continue throughout 2023.

 

Many APAC countries have experienced a significant upswing in demand relative to last year. The following table displays the top 10 highest demand growth destinations in APAC from January 2023 to April 2023, and their year over year increases.

City	YoY Demand Change	City	YoY Demand Change
Macao	221%	Vietnam	46%
China	135%	Taiwan	25%
Hong Kong	131%	Indonesia	16%
Korea	115%	Thailand	12%
New Zealand	88%	Malaysia	5%

 

The lift of border crossing restrictions and increase of travel comfort levels among people have likely contributed to the impressive demand growth. Heading into the busiest travel season of the year, we expect to continue seeing strong demand growth within the APAC region.

 

What Does This Mean for Hoteliers?

There are several campaign tactics hotel advertisers can implement to capitalize on the increased demand in China and the APAC region. Koddi recommends advertisers consider the following options:

• Chinese properties that have been inactive throughout the pandemic and are currently inactive should restart their digital media campaigns as soon as possible to capture heightened demand from both domestic and international travel.
• Advertisers can leverage sponsored listings, paid search, display, and other top-of-funnel tactics to increase awareness for Chinese and APAC properties.
• Hotels located in China could consider targeting Chinese travelers, as well as travelers from the top source markets, to increase visibility for the highest converting points of sale.
• Hotels located outside of China, especially those in the APAC region, should consider leveraging advanced targeting settings or bid boosts on OTA campaigns to strategically target Chinese source markets.
• Hotels in China and greater APAC region should consider leveraging the recently launched Booking Network Sponsored Ads to capture foreign and domestic demand for their properties