Advance hotel bookings is on the rise for Malaysian hotels, even though international travel is off limits, as per latest report from travel technology leader eRevMax. The company has been tracking reservation trends for its connected properties since the beginning of the pandemic and is now witnessing reservation growth in various geographies worldwide.

Holding January 2020 as constant and computing the percentage change across the following months, this report reflects the reservation trends, based on data processed by eRevMax for its client hotels in Malaysia.

Malaysia closed its borders to international tourism in March, like the rest of the world. The South East Asian country, which was one of first to get hit by the coronavirus, started opening travel and tourism activities since June. It relaxed its lockdown measures and allowed interstate travel to resume and opening of various services including amusement and water parks, spa, and reflexology centres, among others. In July, Malaysia reopened its borders partially to medical tourists, and earlier this month, the country announced its travel bubble with Singapore.

The reopening announcement met with a surge in bookings. In July, the number of bookings processed by eRevMax, improved to 72% of January, and in August, it has reached almost 95% so far, showing extremely positive travel sentiment in Malaysia.

“The resilience of the hospitality sector has never failed to amaze me. It is very reassuring to see this revival in demand amidst a pandemic situation. If we look at Malaysia, January is the peak tourist season while July-August is relatively low on tourism activity. Seeing reservations close to high season level is a testimony to people embracing travel again as witnessed from the sharp growth in advance booking numbers,” commented Udai Singh Solanki, co CEO and CTO of eRevMax.