Yalago, part of the Emirates Group and one of the world’s fastest-growing leisure bed banks, recorded a 92% increase in hotel bookings in 2022 compared to the previous year.

Reporting on latest trends from across all global markets, the wholesale specialist reveals record-high figures for the number of travellers, spend per booking, and length of stay throughout the year.

Travellers are spending 30% more per booking, taking on more extensive meal plans such as all-inclusive, and booking five-star hotels as a majority (45%). They are also staying for longer, with the average number of nights per stay increasing to five, compared to four nights in previous years.

Astrid Kastberg, General Manager of Yalago, commented: “With more destinations now open for international travellers, we are seeing incredibly strong demand for all our key destinations. Looking ahead, we are expecting this trend to last as flight capacity continues to expand to reach pre-pandemic levels. This is especially true for some of our key source markets in the Asia-Pacific region, which are yet to return to pre-pandemic flight capacity.

“Through our industry experience and partnerships, we aim to support worldwide travel companies in offering an ever-growing hotel portfolio for leisure travellers. We have built a reputation for our expertise globally, in destinations including Dubai, the Indian Ocean, Florida, Spain, and others, and continue to build on these destinations, alongside new locations across the globe.

“The UAE, USA, Maldives and European cities as an example, remain extremely popular, while in the last couple of months we have seen a considerable increase towards bookings in Southeast Asia. Across Asia, five-star resorts are in demand, yet remain affordable and attractive with our exclusive discounts and value-adds.”

As a ‘winter sun’ trend continues to dominate Yalago’s current bookings, its most popular travel destinations for hotel bookings between December 2022 and March 2023, in order of popularity, are Dubai, Phuket, Singapore, Bali, Florida and Spain’s Canary Islands. Meanwhile, cities ruled for New Year’s Eve with New York City, Paris and London proving most popular for global travellers.

In 2023, a core focus for Yalago is to expand its hotel portfolio with a more extensive range across European cities, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Americas, in particular the USA and Brazil. This will extend the reach of these properties to a wider global audience as travel to these areas continues to grow in popularity.

The company is also expanding its reach with global, in-market teams to enhance its localised knowledge and expertise. In addition to its already-existing office in the UK through its dedicated Yalago Retail Connect operation, the company has recently appointed business development managers in the USA, Switzerland and Spain, as well as expanding its Dubai-based team, with a view to further grow its global footprint in 2023. This will include establishing and expanding teams in the UAE, UK, USA, Brazil, LATAM, Asia and across Europe.

Yalago continues to grow its portfolio, teams and customer-base across the world, with extensive plans underway to mark a new year. To find out more, access www.yalago.com, email sales.support@yalago.com or visit the Yalago team at 2023’s major trade events, including at ITB Berlin, ATM Dubai, IPW San Antonio, ITB China, ITB Asia, FIT Argentina and WTM London.