The Destinations Rebounding From COVID-19 the Strongest

The Places Experiencing the Fastest Tourism Recovery
The world has largely reopened to tourism more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and while people have numerous choices when it comes to travel this spring, including some overseas destinations with little or no restrictive entry requirements, some destinations are recovering more quickly compared to others. Whether it’s a rise in visitor numbers, a spike in demand for hotel stays or a growing number of web searches, there are plenty of metrics we can look at to uncover the places that are rebounding the most effective in the COVID era. Here’s a look at some of the notable destinations around the globe that are experiencing a return to normal or appear well on their way this April.

Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas hosted more than 32 million visitors in 2021, signaling a significant increase from just 19 million visitors in 2020 and down only 24 percent from the 2019 pre-pandemic record of 42 million visitors. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), overall hotel occupancy throughout the city neared 67 percent for 2021 and weekend visitation averaged 81 percent for the year.

Jamaica
Jamaica visitor arrivals are rebounding strongly as the country hosted more than 1.54 million overnight visitors in 2021, marking one of the highest post-pandemic arrivals reported by any destination in the Caribbean. “As we are gradually relaxing travel restrictions, we fully expect a stronger recovery as consumers from our key source markets are resuming international travel in steadily growing numbers,” said Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism.

Spain
Tourism in Spain reached 71 percent of pre-pandemic levels in February 2022, with the country hosting 3.2 million international arrivals who spent about 78 percent of what visitors did in February 2019. “In February, the trend of recovery in international tourism has been consolidated, with a growth of more than 670,000 travelers compared to the previous month, which shows the perception of Spain as a safe destination. A trend that we expect to intensify significantly in the run-up to the first milestone in the 2022 holiday calendar, Easter,” said the country’s Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.

Mexico
Mexico’s limited entry restrictions over the past two years have helped it become one of the fastest-recovering destinations in the world. The country hosted more than 31 million international air travelers over the first 11 months of 2021, which marked an incredible 76.5 percent increase from the previous year.

Hawaii
Hawaii is in the midst of an impressive comeback as well, with local hotels reporting higher revenue per available room (RevPAR), average daily rates (ADR) and occupancy in February 2022 compared to the same periods in 2019 and 2021, according to data compiled by the Hawaii Tourism Authority with the help of STR. Room demand came in at 1.1 million room nights, up 154.7 percent from February 2021 and down just 11.2 percent from the pre-COVID month of February 2019.

Greece
Greece saw an impressive tourism recovery last year and was even recognized by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) for its safe reopening to international visitors. With all the momentum, this year, the country has its sights set on reaching pre-pandemic tourism levels.

Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic remains as hot as ever as the Caribbean country recently recorded the second-biggest month in its history of tourism, with more than 566,000 travelers arriving in February 2022. “Tourist flow levels continue to remain at pre-pandemic levels in the Dominican Republic, while most destinations in Central America and the Caribbean are nowhere near achieving such a recovery,” Tourism Minister David Collado told the Caribbean Journal.

South Africa
ForwardKeys research recently found that the volume of flight searches from the U.S. to South Africa has grown by 2 percent from January to February 2022. What’s more, the overall volume of flight searches to South Africa for the same period is up by 30 percent, revealing tremendous demand for the country as it further eases travel restrictions.

Italy
Italy is garnering plenty of buzz this spring as travel website Next Vacay recently reported seeing interest for traveling to Italy rise by a stunning 1,300 percent year-over-year in the days following its March 1 relaxation of COVID-19 entry requirements.

Turkey
Turkey has set a phenomenal example for countries around the world in terms of a post-pandemic recovery as it anticipates reaching tourism revenues of $34.5 billion in 2022, which is up a remarkable $10 billion from last year and mirrors the $34.5 billion brought in prior to the COVID-19 crisis in 2019.

Croatia
Along with Greece and Spain, Croatia saw the biggest rise in visitors in 2021, with the number of nights spent at tourist accommodations jumping by more than 70 percent compared to the pandemic-plagued year of 2020. “All of these trends make our country one of the most successful and most in-demand destinations on the Mediterranean,” Dario Trnka of the Croatian National Tourist Board told Emerging Europe last year.