The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that the recovery in passenger demand, which had been slowing since the Northern hemisphere’s summer travel season, came to a halt in November 2020. In month-on-month terms, there was a small rise in passenger volumes, but much slower than in the previous months. October and November seasonally adjusted […]
Tourism
ACI reports on the impact of COVID-19 on the airport business: Faltering traffic recovery, deepening revenue shortfall, but strong hopes for a vaccine
Airports Council International (ACI) World has published its fifth COVID-19 economic impact analysis, which reveals the devastating effect on the airport industry and the prospects for recovery. The study developed several scenarios exploring the potential recovery trajectory and, under the baseline scenario, domestic passenger traffic is expected to recover to 2019 levels by 2023 with international […]
UNWTO: International tourism plunges 70% as travel restrictions impact all regions
Restrictions on travel introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to hit global tourism hard, with the latest data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) showing a 70% fall in international arrivals for the first eight months of 2020. According to the new UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international arrivals plunged 81% in July and […]
Hawaii reopens to tourism using new pre-travel testing protocols
Tourism dependent Hawaii reopened to trans-pacific visitors on October 15, allowing travelers who pre-test for COVID-19 to bypass the mandatory 14-day quarantine that has been in effect since March 26. The pre-travel testing for trans-pacific travel program states that those who do not want to be subject to the state’s 14-day mandatory travelers quarantine must take […]
Americans flocking to Florida on Labor Day weekend
Americans are still planning to travel this Labor Day weekend despite COVID-19 concerns. And despite being a “hotspot” of virus cases for most of the summer, Florida is reportedly the most popular destination, according to travel itinerary app TripIt. TripIt analyzed the top 100 destinations for U.S.-origin roundtrip flight reservations made from Jan 1 – […]
Urgent appeal from IATA: re-open borders and continue relief to sustain aviation
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is calling on governments to work together to urgently find ways to re-establish global connectivity by re-opening borders and to continue with relief measures to sustain airlines during the COVID-19 crisis. IATA’s call reflects deep frustration with government policies such as closed borders, travel restrictions and quarantines that continue […]
WTTC: U.S. could lose $155 billion from missing international tourists and visitors
The U.S. economy looks set to lose as much as $155 billion due to the collapse of international travel during 2020, according to latest research conducted by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, says the massive decline in the number of international travelers and […]
UNWTO: 100% of global destinations now have COVID-19 travel restrictions
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) today reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted all destinations worldwide to introduce restrictions on travel, which represents the most severe restriction on international travel in history. No country has so far lifted restrictions introduced in response to the crisis. Following up on previous research, the latest data from the […]
ForwardKeys: Tourism to the Caribbean grew 4.4% in 2019
Tourism to the Caribbean grew by 4.4% in 2019, in step with tourism growth worldwide, reports travel tracking agency Forward Keys. The increase in visitors was driven by North America. Travel from the U.S., which accounts for 53% of visitors, was up 6.5%, and travel from Canada was up 12.2%, says ForwardKeys, citing data released […]
UNWTO: Growth in international tourist arrivals continues to outpace the economy
International tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) worldwide grew 4% in 2019 to reach 1.5 billion, based on data reported by destinations around the world, says the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. This represents the tenth consecutive year of growth. According to the first comprehensive report on global tourism numbers and trends of the new decade, 2019 […]
ForwardKeys: International aviation growth slowed to 4.5% in ‘19 but 1Q 2020 outlook buoyant
Growth in international air travel, as measured by passenger journeys, grew by 4.5% in 2019, reports global tracking agency Forward Keys. This rate is well ahead of global economic growth, but is significantly slower growth than last year’s growth of 6.0%. It is also slower than the trend over the last decade, which averages 6.8% […]
Chinese travel to the U.S. falls
Chinese travel to the U.S. fell 5.7% in 2018 to 2.9 million visitors, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. This is the first time since 2003 that Chinese travel to the U.S. slipped from the prior year. Although many reports are blaming the trade tensions between the two countries for the decline, the […]
U.S. travel industry could lose $100 million a day during government shutdown
The partial federal government shutdown could reach a cost of more than $100 million daily for the U.S. economy just through the impact on travel, according to a preliminary calculation by the U.S. Travel Association’s economic research department. This includes a daily cost of nearly $50 million in direct domestic travel spending, plus more than $50 million in indirect and induced […]
UNWTO/GTERC Report: Asia and the Pacific grows in importance for Global Tourism
Adding further credence to the IATA 20-year forecast released this week, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in partnership with the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre (GTERC), presented its Asia Tourism Trends Report at the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao (China) this week. The report shows Asia and the Pacific outperforming all world regions in […]
IATA forecasts a doubling of air travelers to 8.2 billion by 2037
Present trends in air transport suggest passenger numbers could double to 8.2 billion in 2037, reports the International Air Trans-port Association (IATA) in a forecast released this week. IATA says that the “increasing shift Eastwards in the center of gravity of the industry” is behind the continued strong growth. Over the next two decades, the […]