Travel

The tourism industry in Switzerland was strongly affected by the COVID-19 crisis over the 2020-2022 period. In 2023, the behaviour of travellers is expected to return to normal to a large extent. 2023 started with a positive winter season. Despite…

Air passenger traffic levels in 2023 demonstrate that consumers remain eager to travel, despite skyrocketing ticket prices. That said, the higher ticket prices, resulting from higher costs for operators, more robustly support value growth, while…

Low cost carriers remained the largest category of airlines in Romania in 2023 in terms of both value sales and passengers carried as it recorded stronger growth in passenger numbers than full service carriers, although full service carriers recorded…

In 2023, airlines in Sweden continue to see a rebound in passengers, as consumers place a higher importance on travel. Despite the relatively difficult economic climate, the volume of arrivals by air returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, air…

In order to look at the trends in booking, we look at the overall trends in travel. Polish consumers are re-embracing the opportunity to travel again after the pandemic restrictions were lifted, and we are seeing strong trends in both domestic travel…

The dynamic sales growth that was recorded in bookings in 2023 was mainly the result of the strong interest that many local consumers have in placing early bookings when planning leisure travel. This boom in booking travel and tourism products and…

Despite the economic uncertainties in 2023, pent-up travel demand from the COVID-19 pandemic is driving bookings in Sweden. With both outbound and domestic travel on the rise, driven by elevated costs owing to general inflation, booking value…

Lodging (destination) is recovering in Poland, with both opportunities and challenges seen. In fact, there are a number of challenges faced by those in the lodging industry in Poland. Notably, here we cite the weakened purchasing power of consumers…

The very favourable performance recorded in lodging in Romania during 2023 can be seen as the consequence of rising occupancy rate, which led directly to dynamic growth in room nights as well as spurring the development and opening of new hotels. The…

Sweden's lodging (destination) category experienced a significant boom in 2022, as domestic and inbound travel surged following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Overnight stays and expenditure on lodgings has surpassed pre-pandemic levels,…

Domestic travel is recovering at a faster rate than inbound tourism in Poland. In 2023, Polish consumers are seen to be eager to book stays in domestic tourist resorts, go on city breaks, and travel to visit family or friends and, at the same time,…

2023 saw robust growth in domestic tourism trips and outbound departures as rising demand continued to be driven by the realisation of pent-up demand following the total removal of COVID-19 restrictions from March 2022. With local consumers taking…

Inbound travel to Sweden has made a swift recovery in 2023, with the number of trips expected to return to pre-pandemic levels. The volume of trips made by foreign tourists was very modest in 2023, following the dynamic increases seen in 2022. All…

The resumption of travel is a key factor in 2023, along with the associated evolution in consumer behaviour since the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdowns made people realise how important it is to achieve a healthy work-life balance, along…

The dynamic performances recorded across all categories of travel and tourism in Romania during 2023 represented the continuation of the strong recovery that began in 2021 and developed over the course of 2022. This was mainly result of the…

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on travel patterns in Sweden, with domestic tourism surging as the country faced travel restrictions and remaining strong even as its borders reopened. With all travel restrictions abolished in 2022, travel…

In 2022, airlines in South Africa faced unexpected challenges, leading to devastating consequences for the country's major competitors. Mango, the low cost carrier of South African Airways, had its licence suspended for two years, while Comair, the…

There continues to be a noticeable preference for shorter lead-time bookings, particularly when it comes to holiday destinations that are closer to the customer’s home and offer lower travel costs. These include journeys that can be easily undertaken…

As international tourist arrivals to South Africa experience a resurgence, there has been a significant increase in airlift capacity, reaching levels comparable to pre-pandemic years. Cape Town International Airport, in particular, has reported a…

Travel and tourism in South Africa has been sustained by the domestic market despite major airlines being grounded in 2022 and an increase in aviation fuel prices. Tourist arrivals from Europe and the US have started to regain momentum in 2023, with…

Travel and tourism in South Africa has faced persistent challenges due to rising input costs, particularly related to supplying quality water to clients and dealing with frequent power outages. Water supply and water quality challenges have been…

The luggage industry faced significant challenges during the pandemic, with sales plummeting in 2020. As COVID-19 restrictions eased in 2021, travel rebounded, aiding sales recovery. However, factors like inflation, the war in Ukraine, and China's…

Passenger numbers have continued to recover in 2023, albeit failing to achieve pre-pandemic levels. Although there are no longer any COVID-19 related travel restrictions still in place which could impede travel, including airline travel, there are…

The low cost carriers category looks set to record faster growth in current value sales than its full service counterpart in Hungary in 2023. This is partly because due to their focus on offering more affordable fares, leading low cost operators such…

The cost of a typical day in the sun on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast – the area that makes up what is now known as the fast-growing Bulgarian Riviera – remains far cheaper than most of its rival European resorts. This makes Bulgaria very attractive…

Hungarians traditionally pay close attention to foreign exchange rates when planning trips abroad, particularly summer holidays, as fluctuations can cause travel expenses to increase significantly in a short period of time. This was the case…

Lodging suffered significantly during the pandemic with the number of room nights booked and value sales dropping dramatically. Nonetheless, most lodging establishments and hotels managed to endure the crisis although many have been financially…

Much like Budapest, smaller cities and regional areas in Hungary have witnessed significant increases in lodging supply in recent years, particularly since the easing of the pandemic and the ending of related restrictions. A key driver of growth in…

The National Statistical Office and the Ministry of Tourism data suggest a significant increase in tourism flows as the post-COVID-19 recovery of travel and tourism in Bulgaria continues. There are no remaining active travel restrictions in place…

Growth in the number of outbound departures from Hungary in 2023 looks set to be well down on the previous year. This is mainly explained by the ongoing normalisation of travel flows following the strong rebound over 2021-2022 that resulted from the…

Tourism flows have rebounded strongly during the post-COVID-19 recovery of travel and tourism in Bulgaria, with no travel restrictions being in place in 2022 or 2023. Leading scheduled, low cost and charter airlines have also increased their number…

The Hungarian travel market has performed positively on the whole in 2023. Inbound, outbound and domestic trip numbers have increased strongly and come closer to their pre-pandemic levels, with diminishing concerns about COVID-19 and the ending of…

With the waning effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19), airlines is set to perform well in 2023. Having easily exceeded 2019 pre-pandemic value (constant 2023 prices) sales in 2022, dynamic, if slower, growth is expected over the final year of the review…

Online and offline booking value (constant 2023 prices) sales exceeded their 2019 pre-Coronavirus (COVID-19) levels in 2022, in spite of the disruption caused by the war in Ukraine. Further very strong, if slower than in 2022, increments are…

In 2023, Turkey continues to see the opening of new hotels, in line with accelerating tourism flows in the country. The luxury format is expected to register the highest number of new hotel outlets, due to investments from both existing and new…

In 2023, domestic, inbound and outbound tourism flows are projected to see strong, if slower than in 2022, growth, both in terms of number of trips and value (constant 2023 prices) sales, as the effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to wane. In…

In 2023, travel in Turkey is projected to register strong growth in terms of number of visitors and value sales. The waning of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to have a positive effect on tourism. Inbound tourism flows are registering…

After over two years of Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions preventing holiday-goers from flying to destinations, there were strong opportunities from 2022 to make up for lost time. However, 2022 brought other challenges to the industry, mainly…

As it worked to recover from the pandemic's effects, the aviation sector generally confronted substantial problems in terms of staffing and fleet capacity. First of all, staffing became one of the biggest challenges for its recovery. Airlines lost a…

The second half of 2022 brought economic uncertainty to what had started as an optimistic year in travel and tourism. Nevertheless, travel remained a priority that consumers wanted to spend on, especially after saving up during the two years of…

Business travel is experiencing a significant rebound in 2023, driven by the recovery of MICE events (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), and complemented by sustainable initiatives. The return of well-known international events in…

Sustainable designs and eco-friendly practices have become increasingly important in the construction of new hotels. Germany, known for a commitment to environmental sustainability, has embraced “green” building practice in hospitality. Many new…

In 2023, the average daily room rate in Singapore, across different hotel tiers, continued to reach an all-time high due to two major reasons, namely the labour shortage and increased demand from Chinese tourists. Singapore was no exception to the…

Following the first year of volume growth in inbound arrivals in 2022, after a Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that almost paralysed the travel industry worldwide, 2023 has seen further upward development in the number of international tourists in…

While the tourism industry in Asia Pacific was experiencing a slow recovery during the early stages of reopening, Singapore managed to stay ahead. In fact, Singapore welcomed travellers who were completely vaccinated when its border reopened in April…

After the severe difficulties and challenges faced in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in 2020, optimism in the industry and the joy of experiencing holidays again from the consumers’ side have driven travel in Germany in 2022-2023.…

Singapore continues to recover strongly in 2023. While the travel and tourism industry in Asia Pacific experienced a slow recovery during the early stages of reopening, Singapore has managed to stay ahead. However, the primary inbound source markets,…

Under prevailing economic uncertainty, low cost carriers are gaining favour among local consumers. Since Australia reopened its borders and eased COVID-19 restrictions, travel has embarked on a path towards recovery, significantly increasing airline…

There has been a surge in popularity of online travel intermediaries since the reopening of borders, primarily due to the convenience they offer to travellers. This trend is particularly evident in domestic travel in Australia, where online travel…

Lodging in Australia is undergoing a significant transformation, driven primarily by changes in short-term rentals. There has been a notable decrease in listings on short-term rental platforms, and these changes are increasingly evident due to…