ForwardKeys.com found an increase of 4.5 percent in 2019 was significantly slower than the 6 percent growth in 2018 and the average over the last decade of 6.8 percent per year. The increase last year was less than expected, but projections for quarter one of 2020 is more optimistic. Bookings are expected to grow 8.3 percent when compared to the same period in 2019.

“Usually, aviation grows around three percentage points ahead of global GDP,” said Olivier Ponti, vice president, ForwardKeys, in a statement. “However, in the past year, we have seen several events which have held back growth. These include U.S. trade disputes with Canada, China, Mexico and the EU, riots in Chile, France, Hong Kong and India, the grounding of the relatively new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, terrorism in Sri Lanka, the emergence of ‘flight shaming’ and the bankruptcy of Jet Airways.”

The Asia Pacific region saw the highest increase in traffic last year, with international outbound travel growing by 7.7 percent thanks to the economic success of several countries in the area. Meanwhile, international departures from the Middle East were down 2.4 percent.