Tourism in Asean is on the road to recovery with hotel searches, occupancy rates and travel on the rising trend.

Quoting the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)’s Tourism Recovery Tracker, Asean pointed to a 28% year-to-date increase in hotel searches, as well as a 57% increase in occupancy rates.

Overall travel sentiment has also risen by an impressive 40% year-to-date, and it is expected to increase as more Covid-19 vaccines become available across the globe and variants become milder.

According to VNA, Asean noted that this progression has led to easing of the regions’ pandemic-related border restrictions.

Asean said the pandemic should serve as an impetus and opportunity for the sector to build forward better — by designing and building a more sustainable tourism sector that would underpin its resilience, which should no longer be taken for granted.

“The vision is for tourism in Asean to emerge more sustainable and resilient following the crisis induced by Covid-19, with more focus on environmental conservation and climate friendly policies, as well as on the critical socio-cultural impacts of the tourism sector in the region,” noted Asean in its statement.