Tourism in 2022 is experiencing a “major rebalancing and recalibration” – said the authors of a study conducted by the Institute of Economics Mastercard. On the one hand, after two pandemic years, as expected, there is a trend to restore both tourism in general and the fact that all these two years, tourists were deprived.
“Impression Economy” makes up for it, tourists are actively spent on entertainment, preferring their shopping. The second interrelated trend – the driving factor of tourism of the new reality has become the possibility and convenience of travel, so only those countries and destinations that have given up “coveted” restrictions in time, and which are available to the average tourist.
Such conclusions are contained in the study of the Institute of Economics Mastercard “Travel 2022: trends and changes.” According to him, tourism is rapidly returning, booking holiday tickets has almost exceeded the pre-pandemic level, and costs for other types of travel – such as cruise liners, buses, and trains – are growing in at least 37 markets.
According to the analysis of the Mastercard Economics Institute, if the trend of booking tickets continues at the same pace, in 2022 the world will travel 1.5 billion more passengers than last year. So far, by the end of April, the number of bookings of tourist flights worldwide exceeded the level of 2019 by 25%; the number of bookings for short-haul and medium-haul tourist flights increased by 25% and 27% respectively.
Here are some of the highlights that are tectonically changing world tourism in 2022: Tourists have missed the impressions and entertainment they have been deprived of over the years of lockdown. Expenditures on the “impression industry” increased by 34% above the level of 2019; the largest increase in spending is observed in bars and nightclubs – 72%, as well as in amusement parks, museums, concerts, and other entertainment events – 35%.
The second trend is that the “easing of restrictions will recalibrate the tourist map for 2022” – so it was formulated by experts. “The possibility and convenience of travel have become a driving factor in booking destinations. Although 2022 saw the easing of restrictions in much of the world, except in some parts of the Asia-Pacific region, the countries that lifted the restrictions the fastest will benefit. The United States, Britain, Switzerland, Spain, and the Netherlands are now the main destinations for tourists,” – say the researchers.
“There is a ‘big rebalancing’ around the world, and this mobility is crucial to a pandemic,” said Bricklin Dwyer, Mastercard’s chief economist and head of the Mastercard Institute of Economics. He also said that “consumers’ ability to return to normal and make up for lost time inspires us with optimism that recovery will continue in the right direction, even if there are obstacles.”