Findings from the latest annual research conducted by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
The infographic above displays global Travel & Tourism sector information, but country-specific information can be found here.
Travel Confidence Has Las Vegas Hiring Hundreds
Las Vegas hotels are preparing for the boost in travel coming their way.
Air Travel News Round Up
As COVID-19 vaccinations continue to rollout and more travelers begin to venture away from home, airlines are seeing significant increases in demand. Here’s an article round up on the effects of pent-up travel demand on the airline industry.
Due to expected leisure demand, American Airlines has recently announced summer plans to restore its domestic capacity to 90% of 2019 levels and its international network to 80% of 2019 levels. Read more.
While leisure travel demand is much higher than corporate travel, Delta Air Lines has reported a “slow but steady” recovery in corporate travel. The company revealed that corporate travel is on track for a stronger rebound and return to overall profitability after the summer months. Read more.
Of course, with increases in demand comes increases in prices. Industry experts say that if you are wanting to travel in the next several months, you need to book your ticket now. Once these low prices from the pandemic are gone, they won’t be coming back. Read more.
Consumer Prices Jump, Biggest Gain in Nine Years
U.S. consumer prices increased a sharp 0.6% in March, the biggest uptick since 2012, while inflation over the past year jumped 2.6%.
In March alone, energy prices increased a sharp 5% led by a 9.1% jump in gasoline prices. Food prices edged up 0.1% and are 3.5% higher than a year ago. Reports also showed that new vehicle prices were unchanged in March and up 1.7% over the past year, while used car prices rose 0.5% and are 9.4% higher than a year ago.
Economists said they expect further price gains in coming months as the country continues to open up, but believe the Federal Reserve sees those gains as temporary. Read more.
Economy Extended Stay is Strongest of Weak Hotel Sector
Despite significant declines in travel demand during the pandemic, one sector performed markedly better than the rest last month—U.S. economy extended stay hotels.
Extended stay hotels held a nearly 72% occupancy rate compared to the 42% hotel industry average, according to STR data. Revenue per available room, or RevPAR — the industry’s leading performance metric — declined by just over 14% at economy extended stay hotels compared to a nearly 49% drop for the industry as a whole.
“To be sort of flip, when in doubt: extended stay,” STR Senior Vice President of Lodging Insights Jan Freitag said. “It’s a sector within the industry that has a consistent base of performance.”
Globus Announces Return to International Travel
The Globus collection of brands will begin international operations for the first time since March 2020 this June, beginning in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Iceland. Guests can enjoy small-group tours, with a maximum of 24 individuals. Globus brands offer the Peace of Mind Travel Plan, which waives fees for cancellations or changes to trips. It also features the Trust in Touring program, which includes smaller group sizes, enhanced health and safety protocols and all the fun of international travel.
“We are thrilled to welcome travelers back to the world,” said Scott Nisbet, Chief Executive Officer for the Globus brands. “We have spent the last year preparing for the day when we can resume travel and look forward to sharing with travelers the incredible vacation they’ve been dreaming of, looking forward to and deserve. To start, our international operations will open in Iceland, Costa Rica and Ecuador with hopes of expanding travel opportunities in additional destinations throughout the summer months, as more people are vaccinated and more borders open.”
American Airlines Are Pulling All Planes From Storage
As they say in sports, numbers don’t lie. Based on what has been seen so far in the last six weeks between spring break and the Easter holiday, and the number of bookings for the upcoming summer travel season, American Airlines is pulling all its planes out of storage.
American Airlines’ Chief Information Officer Maya Leibman recently informed employees that, although capacity is still down about 40% compared to 2019 numbers, bookings last week through aa.com and the American Airlines app were up 150-400% compared to last year, and within a few points of 2019. As a result, American plans to ‘unground’ all planes and have all aircraft in the air no later than next month.
“These are stats we haven’t seen in a year,” Liebman told fellow employees. “And all I’m hearing from my friends and family are their travel plans for this summer — you probably are too. It feels like there’s this incredible pent-up demand to GO SOMEWHERE!”
CDC Says It's Safe For Fully Vaccinated Individuals to Travel
The CDC recently stated that Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can resume travel at low risk to themselves, but the agency is still not necessarily recommending travel given rising case counts.
Vaccinated individuals who do choose to travel domestically no longer have to follow the CDC's recommendations to get a COVID-19 test before and after travel unless required by the destination, but still need to wear masks and take other precautions. Read more.
U.S. Economy Adds 916,000 Jobs in March Alone
The U.S. economy's recovery from the pandemic strengthened in March as employers added 916,000 jobs—the biggest gain since August, according to the Labor Department. The huge jump in jobs was up from the 468,000 increase in jobs reported for February, which itself was revised by nearly +100,000 jobs from its initial reading.
Some of the sectors scoring big improvements were among those hurt the worst by the shutdowns associated with the pandemic:
Restaurants and bars—176,000
Education—126,000
Hotels and other accommodations—40,000
Category including performing arts, spectator sports and amusement parks—64,000
Other big gains came in sectors that have done well over the last year, despite the recession:
Construction—110,000
Delivery services—17,000
But while the unemployment rate is the lowest that it has been during the pandemic (6.0%), 5.8 million employed individuals are working part-time jobs when they would rather be working full-time. Read more.
California Plans to End Tier System Mid-June
California governor Gavin Newsome recently announced that the state will end its pandemic tier system and remove most restrictions on businesses on June 15. This decision was influenced by more than 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine being administered to that state’s 32 million eligible citizens, and will be contingent upon vaccinations remaining available to all people ages 16 and older and statewide case rates continuing to fall.
While business restrictions and other operating regulations are set to disappear on June 15, the statewide mask mandate will remain in effect for the foreseeable future.
International COVID-19 Vaccination Tracker
More than 564 million vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.
Check out the New York Times’ interactive, international COVID-19 vaccination tracker here.
Universal Studios Hollywood Sets Reopening Date
Universal Studios Hollywood recently announced that it will reopen to the public on Friday, April 16, and that tickets will be available online starting Thursday, April 8.
The county is getting ready to enter the state’s Orange tier, meaning that the park will be able to open at 25% capacity.
Travel Resumes And Gasoline Prices Jump
Americans that are emerging from lockdown with a dire need to travel may need to budget for $3-a-gallon gasoline on their next road trip—something U.S. drivers haven’t experienced since 2014.
Prices at the pump are on the rise, driven higher by oil prices hitting $60 per barrel, a surge of economic optimism, restraint from U.S. frackers and unprecedented production cuts by OPEC and Russia. The national average price of gasoline has climbed 47 straight days to nearly $2.89 per gallon.
“$3 gas will be the norm by Memorial Day,” said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities. “We’ve been trapped inside for over a year. People want to get out of the house.” Read more.
Vaccination Rates Increase, Along with American Reemergence
The number of American adults that report having received a COVID-19 vaccine is up significantly from two weeks ago (+11% to 36%). At the same time, the number of people reemerging—going to restaurants (45%), shopping in retail stores (54%) and just being outside of their home—continues to climb.
However, those who indicate that they are “not at all likely” to receive the vaccine remain steady (nearly one in five).
California Details Theme Park Reopening Rules
The state of California has issued its official industry guidelines for theme parks, a more detailed set of rules that parks must follow when they reopen under the broad guidelines announced earlier in March. Parks will be allowed to reopen beginning April 1st depending on where the park is located will determine their opening capacity: Red (15% capacity), Orange (25% capacity) and Yellow (35% capacity).
Additional guidelines include:
Mandatory face coverings and weekly Covid testing for workers
In-state visitors only, and no more than three households in any visiting party
Indoor rides may last no more than 15 minutes
Outdoor queuing only, with 6-foot physical distancing between households
Parks must discontinue rides with a high rate of guest loss of face coverings, or where wearing a face covering would be dangerous
Outdoor live performances and shows only
Eating and drinking is allowed only in designated eating areas
Are Digital Passports the Solution to Resume Business Travel?
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s largest business travel association, recently reported its findings from its 17th poll looking at the impact of COVID-19 on the business travel industry. The poll revealed that two-thirds of members and stakeholders (66%) believe that implementing Digital Health Verification (or vaccination passports) is a good policy, as it could help employees safely resume business travel. The poll also finds a positive increase in optimism among members as the vaccine rollout ramps-up globally and the benefits of the vaccine start to take hold.
Other key findings include:
Respondents from Europe (72%) are more likely than those from North America (63%) to support Digital Health Verification.
Those who are not in support of Digital Health Verification claim that privacy concerns (73%) are the main reason why.
Half of GBTA members and stakeholders cite government policies that restrict travel as the greatest barrier to business travel, while company policies (25%), employee reluctance (11%) and travel budget cuts or freezes (10%) serve as lesser barriers.
NY's Quarantine Requirements for Domestic Travelers to End 4/1
While the New York State Department of Health will still recommend quarantining after domestic travel, the practice will no longer be required within the state starting April 1. However, all travelers must continue to fill out the Traveler Health Form, and international travelers will still be required to quarantine. Read more.
"This is great news, but it is not an all-clear for New Yorkers to let their guard down. To beat this virus once and for all we all must continue doing what we know works to stop the spread, including wearing masks, washing our hands, and practicing social distancing," Governor Cuomo said on Thursday.
Travel Loses $1.1 Trillion in U.S. Economic Output
The damage to the travel industry is coming into full focus. In partnership with Tourism Economics, the U.S. Travel Association was able to determine exactly how damaging the pandemic has been.
Travel’s economic footprint in the U.S. shrank 42% last year, making for more than a $1 trillion deficit.
Travel industry employment also experienced a devastating blow during 2020, falling by 5.6 million and accounting for 65% of the country’s job loss.
“While the gradual progress of vaccinations has provided hope that a turnaround may be on the horizon, it is still unclear when travel demand will be able to fully rebound on its own,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. “With the travel industry suffering such a disproportionate share of losses, policymakers need to understand that a nationwide economic recovery effectively hinges on a travel recovery.”
Disneyland Announces April 30th Reopening Date
Disneyland Resort theme parks plan to reopen their doors for California residents on Friday, April 30th.
Celebratory 'Vaxications' Boost Travel Industry
Travel agencies across the country have seen a boost in travel inquiries as COVID-19 vaccines continue to rollout. A travel agent in Denver recently revealed that she has seen a 25% increase in inquires since the first round of vaccinations became available, and that she has started receiving emails from clients wanting to plan celebratory vacations in honor of receiving their first round of the vaccine. She claims that many of her clients aren’t even waiting for their second round to book a trip.
The movement may be premature, as the CDC has delayed its release of updated COVID-19 safety guidelines for Americans who’ve been fully vaccinated. To date, the CDC is encouraging those who have been vaccinated to continue wearing masks, social distancing and avoiding crowds. Dr. Fauci has even publicly expressed caution around post-vaccination travels, given the possibility of spreading the virus along the way. Read more.