Last-minute surge in air bookings for the holidays

The travel analytics firm ForwardKeys reports a last-minute surge in air bookings for the Christmas holiday period, with resort destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico seeing the largest increase.

Still, the last-minute rush will be “no more than a small oasis in the desert,” with air ticket arrivals between Dec. 19 and 25 overall set to peak at just 20.2% of 2019 levels, the firm said Friday. 

The Dominican Republic is the most popular destination for U.S. travelers for the holidays, ForwardKeys reports. As of Dec. 8, the firm said air tickets issued for arrivals to Santo Domingo were just  21.2% behind 2019 levels. 

San Juan ranks second, with bookings at 39.6% behind last year, followed by Sao Paulo, Cancun and Punta Cana, which are down 40.3%, 45.5% and 47.3%, respectively.

The data shows the resort destinations “are being relatively very successful, in comparison to other parts of the world, attracting visitors from their most important market, the USA, who are eager for a holiday outdoors in the sunshine,” said Olivier Ponti, vice president of Insights for ForwardKeys.

“Right now, they look set to maintain tourist numbers at around 50% of normal levels,” he said, “although that depends on governments not implementing any last-minute measures to avoid a third wave.”

Ponti attributed the strong showing for Sao Paulo to its importance as a regional travel hub and people flying to visit friends and relatives.