The travel analysts at ForwardKeys have been kept busy monitoring and sharing the latest business intelligence in real-time as one by one, nations and regions start to taste travel reactivation. The first glimpses of a return to “Normality” took place in Central America and the Caribbean in 2021 driven by travel-hungry US travellers and Europeans. Now that hunger has a new focus: Africa and the Middle East.

And it could be the US outbound market to save the fragile tourism sector in Africa. The volume of flight searches from the US to South Africa has grown by 2% from January to February 2022. While the overall volume of flight searches to South Africa for the same period is up by 30%. Travel intent is strong but does this interest convert into bookings?

The good news is that international arrivals into Africa and the Middle East confirm this intent is translating into arriving tourists.

International arrivals to Africa in Q2 of 2022 are at -33% compared to 2019 levels, above the total international outbound average of -45% and just behind the leading recovery region, the Americas (-27%). Last year this figure was at -64%, so this is a marked improvement.

Download the full report to uncover the top source markets, changes in cabin-class bookings, traveller profiles and more.

Or if in Cape Town, attend one of the ForwardKeys presentations on the Global Stage at WTM Africa next week. Meet the team, request a demonstration, and take advantage of the exclusive WTM Africa offer for exhibitors and attendees.

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