The Mastercard Economics Institute has released its fourth annual travel report, Travel Industry Trends 2023, offering insights across markets about the global state of travel punctuated by shifting economic landscapes, persistent consumer demands, and a reopening mainland China.

Looking at key segments of the traveller journey, a number of takeaways were uncovered:

• Flight bookings around the world show an impressive 33% year-over-year growth.
– From January-March, leisure flight bookings in Canada were up 45.1% in 2023 compared to the same time period in 2022.

• Global commercial flight bookings caught up to leisure bookings.
– Leisure and business travel are now growing at the same rate, up 33% from the same month in 2019 by the end of March 2023, a 42% year-over-year-to-date change from 2022 to 2023.

• Preference for experiences over things persists.
– In Canada, experiences are up 25.7% in 2023 compared to 2019.

• Top destinations for North Americans include Mexico, along with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Jamaica in the Caribbean, and the UK, Italy, Germany, and France in Europe.

“In the first full year of unfettered travel since the pandemic, consumers are acting on pent-up desire to explore new locales, connect with friends and family, and accumulate experiences to make up for lost time,” says Bricklin Dwyer, Mastercard chief economist and head of the Mastercard Economics Institute. “Despite evolving economic landscapes, resilient consumers continue to prioritize travel. And with new corridors emerging and China reopening, the 2023 outlook indicates good reason to be optimistic.”