South-East Asia's tourism industry begins uneven recovery

Visitors pose for a photograph at Ponagar Temple in Nha Trang, Vietnam, on Sunday, March 27, 2022. Nha Trang is a beach-blessed resort town on Vietnam’s east coast. - Bloomberg

HANOI, April 17 (Reuters): Two years after tourism in Southeast Asia ground to a halt, travellers are getting back on planes as entry and Covid-19 quarantine rules are lifted in the region, but a full recovery will be slow and some long-time hotspots are falling out of favour.

International airline bookings to Southeast Asia reached 38% of pre-pandemic levels by late March, according to travel firm ForwardKeys. They were at less than 10% of 2019 levels at the start of the year.