Visitors from China and Japan account for a sizeable share of international travelers into the U.S., but in recent years COVID-induced travel bans caused trans-Pacific travel to nearly halt. Last winter, the number of inbound travelers from China and Japan hovered around 5% of 2019 levels. As restrictions have fallen away, notably the U.S. no longer requiring a negative COVID test beginning last June, travel from China and Japan has steadily increased.

The return of East Asian visitors will be a plus for the American hotels, especially in Hawaii, major West Coast markets, and premier leisure destinations like Las Vegas and Orlando. In addition to the hotel market’s surprising resilience in recent quarters, we expect further demand growth, especially from visitors from China and Japan, as more travel restrictions ease.