Long-Haul Holidays are Returning – Expedia Traveler Insights Report

Travel search volume 

In Q2, search volumes remained constant, demonstrating that travelers’ interests and enthusiasm have not diminished. Between Q1 and Q2, APAC and EMEA both experienced significant double-digit growth, with APAC seeing the strongest growth. 

Global Search 

Search volume has seen some fluctuations on a week-over-week basis, with some peaks around the week of June 6. This upwards trend follows the announcement of the US no longer requiring Covid-19 testing for international travelers. Likewise, the EMEA and NORAM regions saw a 10 % increase in search volume on a weekly basis and APAC and LATAM saw a 5% growth. 

Domestic Searches

Domestic search has seen fluctuations throughout Q2, and similar to global search, domestic search saw an increase during the week of June 6. Likely reasons for this being the start of the summer holiday season in the Northern Hemisphere, and the removal of Covid-19 testing requirements which could have increased travelers’ overall confidence in NORAM.

International searches

APAC has seen the highest increase in international travel search volume during April until the end of June, with the strongest growth in May and June. The announcement of the removal of Covid-19 testing requirements also likely caused an increase in searches globally during the week of June 13. Top destinations within APAC and EMEA following the announcement, include the UK, Germany, France, Australia, and New Zealand, which all saw a significant increase during the weeks of June 6 and June 13. 

Smaller Search Windows

Compared to previous periods, travelers are continuing to look mainly for trips in the near future. More so, the share of searches in the 0-90-day window increased more than 5% globally, while searches in the 61-90 day window grew 15% quarter-over-quarter. 

Popular destinations

Another interesting trend is the remaining popularity of major cities and beaches as travel destinations. The most popular destinations included London and Paris, with London being the third most popular destination in Q2, and made the top 10 list of most popular locations worldwide. Likewise, Paris ranked No. 7 on both the global top 10 list of most-booked destinations and the top 10 lists for travelers from APAC, EMEA, and LATAM. Download the report to see the Top 10 Vrbo-Booked Destinations.

Long-haul flights

As travelers desire to travel further, the demand for long-haul flights, or flights that last more than four hours, increased significantly in Q2. Demand for long-haul flights increased globally by more than 50% year over year. The demand for flights from the United States to Europe increased by more than 100% year over year in Q2, underscoring the boom in long-haul travel.

Growing Interest in Inclusive Travel

The Report by Expedia Group also shows an increase in preference for inclusive travel. People all around the world are looking for inclusive and accessible tourism as well as ways to have more meaningful and responsible travel experiences. According to Expedia’s recent Inclusive Travel Insights Report, 7 in 10 consumers prefer a more inclusive destination, even if it is more expensive. 

Demand stays strong despite rising costs

Similar to Q1, Q2 showed strong growth, with lodging bookings seeing the highest growth ever in Expedia’s company history. The increase of lodging demand has seen the strongest growth in the APAC region in Q2. As well as a 40% increase in stayed room nights and a 9% increase in stayed average daily rates (ADRs). 

Hotels have seen a great performance in Q2. Room night cancellations rates have decreased significantly on a global level compared to Q2 2019. Vacation rental performance have been mainly driven by domestic travel, with Australia, France, Brazil and the U.S. still being the top booked countries. 

Read more about the Hotel and Vacation Rental performance in the report. 

Download the Expedia Group’s report for free by filling in the form. And learn more about the latest quarterly traveler insights, gathered from more than 70 petabytes of exclusive Expedia group first-party data and custom research.