International outbound flights from Spain were up by 2.7% last year with the biggest increase seen from countries in Asia Pacific; a trend that looks like it will continue in 2017, says travel analyst ForwardKeys.

 

Passengers to Asia Pacific destinations were up by 15.7% on the previous year with many countries seeing double-digit growth, including China (up 13%), Japan (+16%), India (+17%) and Vietnam (+32%). This is clearly good news for the dominant travel retailer at Spanish airports, Dufry (World Duty Free). [Madrid Airport top right].

 

Much of the increase can be attributed to certain airlines dramatically increasing their capacity to the region (up 38%) in 2016, says ForwardKeys.

 

Click to enlarge graphs.

 

“The growth in capacity is partly due to the Chinese seeing Spain as a safe and attractive destination and as a result creating capacity on return flights, creating the opportunity for Spanish consumers to travel on new direct routes to Asia,” says the travel analyst.

 

Growth started in the second half of last year helped by Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong – Madrid), Iberia (connecting Madrid with Shanghai and Tokyo) and China Eastern (Madrid –Shanghai). However, it is important to note that Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways dropped routes.