Punta Cana leads the online travel searches surge in the Caribbean
International travel searches on Expedia Group sites posted positive growth in July, driven primarily by the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
According to data from the global travel platform, travelers from the United States and Canada are emerging as relevant markets for the region’s recovery.
The tourism industry is one of the main economic engines in many Caribbean countries.
After several months of confinement and border closure, among other measures, hotels, flights, and tourism service providers in the region have resumed their activities under strict safety and hygiene protocols to guarantee a safe trip to international visitors.
The Caribbean in search trends
Despite the decrease in travel observed in recent months due to the health emergency due to COVID-19, Caribbean destinations showed resilience.
The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are on the minds of travelers, with 30% and almost 35% of searches carried. The total international searches were from the United States (80%) and Canada (10%).
Under the General Protocol for Tourist Activities, the Dominican Republic reopened its borders to international travelers on July 1st, after several months of confinement, the destination did not lose popularity among those who still dream of visiting it for the first time or for those who want to return to enjoy the natural beauties of the country.
Punta Cana was the most requested Caribbean tourism destination with 35%, according to the July searches on Expedia.
Despite the fact that the reopening of Puerto Rico’s borders planned for July 15th was delayed, the platform’s sites registered an intense search activity to the capital, San Juan, which represented 15% in July.
Jamaica was one of the first nations to lift the border closures in mid-June and since then it has received around 40,000 tourists, representing revenues of nearly 80 million dollars and directly employing 170,000 people.
Montego Bay travel searches on global travel platform sites increased 15%, also in July.
One of the results of the pandemic is that it sparked the rapid adoption of digitization and the rise of e-commerce as consumer behavior changes online.
Mobile searches on the Expedia Group website and app in the past 12 weeks increased by 10%, from 55% to 65%, showing that the popularity of searching and booking travel via mobile devices will continue.
This represents an opportunity for small or independent hoteliers to take advantage of the online experience and travel platform as an effective way to capture such demand if they do not have the resources to create their own mobile channel.