This same time last year, Asia dominated Euromonitor International's annual list of the top 100 city destinations in the world, contributing 12 of the top 20 city destinations by arrivals and five of the top ten. Fast forward one year and the findings from the World Hotel Index, by country, tell us a not-so-dissimilar story.

Asia now accounts for four of the 10 countries leading the world in year-on-year hotel bookings - and two of the three countries that have surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Indeed, over the past month, we saw year-on-year hotel booking performance in the Maldives and Taiwan rise to 138% and 112%, respectively, to lead the world alongside the United Arab Emirates where hotel bookings currently sit at 125% YoY.

SiteMinder World Hotel Index: year-on-year hotel booking performance in the Maldives, Taiwan and the UAE— Source: SiteMinder
SiteMinder World Hotel Index: year-on-year hotel booking performance in the Maldives, Taiwan and the UAE— Source: SiteMinder

Nearby, in the Pacific, Australia also features among the world's top 10 countries by hotel booking performance after its second-largest city of Melbourne brought new coronavirus cases down to zero and lifted a stage 4 lockdown.

None of this will be surprising to those of you who have been following the movements within the World Hotel Index. In fact, we reported on the signs of the Asia Pacific's leadership as early as April. As recently as September, we commented on the stark difference between the Asia Pacific's cautious approach to travel and Europe's rapid reopenings.

So, what's the real change to report today?

Hotel bookings globally see marginal uptick

In the last two weeks, the world has rejoiced over news that a promising coronavirus vaccine could be on its way. And, with that news, year-on-year hotel bookings globally have risen more than four percentage points for the first time since entering the stage of flux on 27 September.

Read my full analysis on which countries contributed half of this week's 10 fastest risers, and the newest holiday booking trend to emerge around the world.

About SiteMinder

SiteMinder Limited (ASX:SDR) is the name behind SiteMinder, the only software platform that unlocks the full revenue potential of hotels, and Little Hotelier, an all-in-one hotel management software that makes the lives of small accommodation providers easier. The global company is headquartered in Sydney with offices in Bangalore, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Dallas, Galway, London and Manila. Through its technology and the largest partner ecosystem in the global hotel industry, SiteMinder generates more than 115 million reservations worth over US$45 billion in revenue for its hotel customers each year. For more information, visit siteminder.com.

Maria Cricchiola
Director of Brand Communications & PR
+61 2 9056 7415
SiteMinder

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