Digital travel sales in Asia-Pacific will surpass those in North America next year, making it the largest regional market in the world.
According to eMarketer’s worldwide digital travel sales forecast, sales in APAC will grow by more than 21% next year, reaching $215.92 billion, compared with North America’s $200.43 billion. This strong growth is thanks to heavy activity within China, where digital travel sales this year are expected to grow by 36.0% to reach $95.29 billion.
As has happened with the retail e-commerce market in China, high levels of mobile adoption, combined with a growing middle class that likes to take trips, have led to a booming digital travel market.
Currently, the US, with projected sales of $180.59 billion this year, has the largest digital travel market in the world. While the US market is currently more than double the size of China’s, it is not expected to keep this lead for much longer; by 2020 digital travel sales in China will reach $198.48 billion, less than $15 billion behind the US.
Elsewhere in the region, India and Indonesia stand out for having high digital travel sales growth. In India, both retail e-commerce and digital travel sales are growing at high rates as booking activities continue to shift online.
In Indonesia, internet and mobile user growth combined with increased disposable income are driving digital travel sales.
(Source: eMarketer)