Examining traveler behavior through the lens of flight searches and resulting actions reveals similarities and differences across the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA regions.
According to an analysis from Skyscanner, “searches” - meaning when users look for flights - versus “exits,” or when users are redirected to a partner website, are dependent on various factors such as destination or global events.
The data gleaned from the study of the metasearch site’s 60 million monthly visitors over 2017 shows that 90% of users in the EMEA and APAC areas travel within their own regions, with the exception being those going to the United States.
For Americans, only 50% stay regionally, with 40% opting for Europe.
There’s minor alignment between searches and exits for EMEA and APAC travelers, while for Americans, the two are solidly connected – suggesting travelers from the former groups are more flexible about destination choice compared to the latter.
Japan is the only area growing in both searches and exits for the Americas and APAC, with all other destinations for the Americas only increasing in searches. For EMEA, growth in searches and exits is seen for Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands and Greece.
For holiday trips of more than 10 days, 40% of EMEA and 60% of Americas travelers to top 10 destinations opt for locations outside their native regions; 80% of APAC travelers, meanwhile, remain closer to home.
Higher numbers of exits coincide with global events such as St. Patrick’s Day and the Yi Peng Lantern festival, with travelers booking 113 days and 108 days, respectively, in advance.
All regions see the highest search volumes during summer months, and Tuesday is the most popular day for exiting, according to the study.
EMEA and APAC have the highest exit volumes in July, compared to the Americas, which has highest rates during October and November.
