Americans will be traveling to Asia and Europe in 2023 at pre-pandemic levels, possibly even higher, CNBC reports.

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns since 2020 have created a lot of restless travelers ready to hit the skies, the rails and the seas, now that most nations have lifted pandemic restrictions.

“There’s a lot of pent-up travel demand,” says Jessica Griscavage, CEO of Runway Travel. “We missed travel for two to three years.”

The top three trending international flight destinations are Tokyo; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Bangkok, according to Hopper data.

Likewise, international tour operator G Adventures says its biggest bookings for 2023 are in Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, according to Managing Director Ben Perlo. Sales for each of the three Asian nations surpass their November 2019 numbers, Perlo says.

However, in terms of the total number of trips being booked as opposed to cost, Europe is the No. 1 destination, according to Hopper.

Strong US Dollar

“Everyone wants to go to Europe,” Griscavage  says. “It was a destination everyone missed through the pandemic.”

Italy, the U.K. and France were the first, third and fifth destinations people cited in a recent Destination Analysts poll.

Besides the lifting of COVID travel restrictions and testing requirements for American travelers, the U.S. dollar is relatively strong against major currencies, like the euro, and more people have hybrid work schedules that permit them to take longer trips.

In addition, some airlines have added more direct flights to alluring world destinations, travel experts say.

However, inflated prices and recession fears are weighing on travelers’ minds. A roundtrip ticket to Asia costs about $1,200, and airfare in general is up around 36%. Hotels are up 3%.

'Gangbusters'

So, American tourists are getting more creative by traveling on the fringes of peak seasons, like March and early fall, Griscavage says.

This is a big reversal from travel in 2020 and 2021, when COVID-19 infection fears kept most U.S. travelers within the nation’s borders. Visits to U.S. national parks boomed, and RV rentals soared.

Now, with international destinations in people’s sights, “The travel industry is just going gangbusters,” says Erin Florio, executive editor of Conde Nast Traveler.