EASING OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS LIKELY TO BOOST LODGING DEMAND
COLUMNS
EASING OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS LIKELY TO BOOST LODGING DEMAND
Contributed by RACHAEL ROTHMAN , HEAD OF CBRE HOTELS RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYTICS and MATT MOWELL , SENIOR ECONOMIST AT CBRE ECONOMETRIC ADVISORS .
Visitors from China and Japan account for a sizeable share of international travelers into the U . S ., but in recent years COVIDinduced travel bans caused trans-Pacific travel to nearly halt . Last winter , the number of inbound travelers from China and Japan hovered around
5 % of 2019 levels . As restrictions have fallen away , notably the U . S . no longer requiring a negative COVID test beginning last June , travel from China and Japan has steadily increased .
The return of East Asian visitors will be a plus for the American hotels , especially in Hawaii , major
West Coast markets , and premier leisure destinations like Las Vegas and Orlando . In addition to the hotel market ’ s surprising resilience in recent quarters , we expect further demand growth , especially from visitors from China and Japan , as more travel restrictions ease .
Arrivals from Asia as a Percent of 2019 and total Overseas Arrivals
% of 2019 % of total Overseas Arrivals
30
25
20
15
10
5
In 2022 , Japan and China visitation as a % of overseas arrivals was 4.2 % down from 16.7 % in 2019
7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0
Jan 2022 |
Feb 2022 |
Mar 2022 |
Apr 2022 |
May 2022 |
Jun 2022 |
Jul 2022 |
Aug 2022 |
Sep 2022 |
Oct 2022 |
Nov 2022 |
Dec 2022 |
Arrivals as percent of 2019 Arrivals from Cina and Japan as a share of total overseas travelers
National Travel and Tourism Office
74 hotelsmag . com Mar / Apr 2023