Travel Sector Expected to Begin Recovering From Covid in 2021

Travel will begin to pick up in 2021 according to new research

Travel will begin to pick up in 2021, however the sector is not expected to fully recover from the impact of the Covid crisis until 2025 – but this isn’t due to low demand!

That is the findings of a new study of the global tourism industry by research company Phocuswright.

Phocuswright’s Senior Market Analyst Peter O’Connor said that with the release of multiple vaccines, a recovery in travel should begin in 2021 but that it is expected to be slow and constant.

He said: “Part of the reason for this is that airlines and many other suppliers, including hotels and tour operators, have furloughed both aircraft and staff and it is going to take time to get these services back up and running.

“It will take a significant amount of time for a vaccine to roll out to cover the majority of the population, even here in Europe. We do not expect a full recovery, to those lofty 2019 levels, before 2025.”

With a recovery expected to begin in 2021, the market size is estimated to grow to 168 billion euros and Mediterranean destinations such as Spain, Italy and Greece are forecast to have higher than average growth rates over that period.

Recovery is forecast to be more rapid in the hotel sector than in many other sectors of travel, driven by demand from domestic and customers in adjacent European markets and according to the research data, nearly two out of three travellers across the US and most major European countries stress that travel remains an important part of their lifestyle and want to return to it as soon as possible.

Already one in four are ready to travel domestically or into adjacent countries, with the figures growing to three out of four within six months and nine out of ten within 12 months.

Phocuswright research showed that the announcements about successful developments of vaccines proved to be the key issue in encouraging consumers to return to travel faster.

“Nearly 60 percent of consumers said that the deployment of a vaccine would make them more comfortable taking a trip within the next 12 months,” Mr O’Connor said.

With regards to European travellers, Mr O’Connor said that at least two out of three have indicated their willingness to travel within Europe by July 2021, led by the British and the Germans.

“We have a lot of Europeans wanting to travel that could represent a very interesting market for Greek tourism, with the Italians and French in particular offering high potential,” he said.

Mr O’Connor added that Greek hoteliers should concentrate their marketing efforts on the European market to reassure potential customers that they are doing everything possible to insure their safety and put an emphasis on what a great value for money destination Greece is.

“And get ready for a good 2021 season,” he added.

Mr O’Connor made his comments at the 4th International Hospitality Forum (IHF).

You can find more information on the research here.

news