ForwardKeys published a report on “The most visited destinations in 2022”, in which the Dominican Republic leads the list with 5% more visitors than in 2019, followed by Turkey and Costa Rica.
The travel company ForwardKeys published its annual report “The most visited destinations in 2022″, in which the Dominican Republic was placed as the most visited country in the world, having received 5% more visitors than in 2019. It is followed by Turkey, Costa Rica and Mexico, which received the same number of visitors as in 2019.
Consumer demand for beach vacations has led the revival, with business travel and urban tourism lagging until early fall. There has also been a trend toward premium cabin travel, fueled in part by so-called “revenge travel,” which has caused consumers to spend more on value-added travel services. That syndrome, added to the rising cost of fuel, has fueled a sharp increase in rates.
“Looking at the world on a regional level, one must admire the Caribbean countries for their early efforts to sustain visitor arrivals in the face of the pandemic and their continued growth in an increasingly competitive travel landscape,” said Olivier Ponti, VP by ForwardKeys.
“ The Middle East also stands out, which has helped accelerate its recovery by hosting major world events such as the Dubai World Expo, the Formula One Grand Prix in various locations in the Gulf and, above all, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The Gulf has also seen a relatively strong comeback in business travel, a segment whose recent renaissance has come as a surprise to many,” Ponti added.
ForwardKeys stressed that the strong representation of Central American and Caribbean destinations at the top of the list reflects the relative strength of the US source market and the approach taken by many highly tourism-dependent countries in the Caribbean and the Caribbean. Gulf of Mexico, which, during the pandemic, imposed less severe Covid-19 travel restrictions than elsewhere, and in doing so maintained their visitor economies. As the year has progressed, they have consolidated their leadership position and have begun to exceed pre-pandemic volumes.
Along with the ranking, ForwardKeys identified several major trends that have characterized travel in 2022. The strongest is recovery, as pandemic-related travel restrictions have been progressively eased and pent-up demand for travel has been released, helped by a recent revival in business travel and major world events such as the Dubai World Expo and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
However, the recovery has not been easy. Initially, the highly virulent variant of Omicron caused much concern and the reimposition of travel restrictions earlier in the year. Another factor stalling the recovery was staff shortages, which led to chaotic scenes at airports before the start of the summer season.
The 10 most visited countries in 2022, according to ForwardKeys
1. Dominican Republic, with a variation of +5% vs. 2019
2. Turkey, 0%
3. Costa Rica, 0%
4. Mexico, 0%
5. Jamaica, -5%
6. Pakistan, -5%
7. Bangladesh, -8%
8. Greece, -12%
9. Egypt, -15%
10. Portugal, -16%