BANGKOK, 23 August 2018: Airbnb in a recent update says home sharing generated 5 million visitors to the Mekong region in 2017 and injected up to USD1.67 billion in local economies.
Airbnb presented highlights of its report to tourism executives at the recent Mekong Tourism Forum hosted in Nakhon Phanom a tourist town on the Mekong River in Northeast Thailand.
The home-sharing platform claims it delivered 5 million guests in 2017 to destinations in the Greater Mekong region, namely Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. It represented a 147% increase year-over-year.
In turn, the Greater Mekong region accounts for a significant number of Airbnb users. More than 7 million travellers from the region travelled with Airbnb to other destinations, creating offline connections across borders and cultures.
Additional findings showed that more than 60,000 guests on Airbnb travelled to two or more countries within the region in 2017. Of these travellers, almost 50% of them began their intra-region trips in Thailand.
Of the most popular travel routes, demonstrated by Airbnb bookings, the top choice was travel between Thailand and Vietnam in both directions. Other combinations were Thailand-Cambodia, Vietnam-Cambodia and Thailand-China.
Notably, Airbnb has also experienced powerful growth in China and Vietnam. China bookings are up 205% year-over year growth in inbound guest arrivals, 103% year over year growth in outbound guests arrivals. Vietnam is up 145% in inbound guest arrivals and 158% year over year growth in outbound guest arrivals
Thailand, Airbnb’s second largest market in the Greater Mekong after China, welcomed 1.2 million guests alone in 2017.
In Myanmar and Laos, locals are adapting to the Airbnb home-sharing model. Outbound guest arrivals in Myanmar grew 169%, while local hosts opening their homes to tourists increased 85% year-over-year. Similarly, outbound guest arrivals in Laos grew 100% year over year.
The top 10 countries supplying guests traveling with Airbnb were: China, the US, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and France.
Airbnb head of policy for Southeast Asia Mich Goh claims the Greater Mekong is one of Airbnb’s fastest growing regions, one that continues to grow because tourists are looking for adventurous local experiences when they travel.
“We offer travellers quality accommodations across the region, and also Airbnb Experiences in three markets — China, Thailand and Vietnam,” said Goh.
The company has also added Chiang Mai to its ‘Experiences’ to support creative and cultural products in the North Thailand destination.
Goh added: “Airbnb is empowering local hospitality entrepreneurs and strengthening local communities through healthy, sustainable tourism.”
