Travel Markets Insider Newsletter Vol. 21 No. 38

Publisher’s Comment:

The United States has elected a new President. Along with the rest of the world, we at TMI have spent the last five days glued to our news stations as the United States painstakingly counted the record-breaking number of votes cast during this election. With Joe Biden the presumptive new President–elect, we may see a more national, integrated effort against the coronavirus, the control of which will be the first step in restoring economical and travel recovery. One other observation: there was no “Blue Wave” with the Democratic party sweeping the House of Representatives and the Senate, which means that any changes coming will most likely be measured and moderate. Since businesses depend on stability more than nearly anything else, this is likely a best case scenario for the USA in terms of recovery.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Travel Association was one of the first to welcome the new President-elect, with Association President and CEO Roger Dow saying, in part: “We applaud President-elect Biden’s objective of helping the industries most heavily impacted by the pandemic. The travel industry accounts for more than a third of overall U.S. unemployment, and policies to promote relief, recovery, and stimulus for travel businesses are integral to a U.S. economic turnaround.”

Dow continued: “We share the emphasis on combatting the spread of COVID-19 expressed by the president-elect while building economic growth. The right combination of technologies and behaviors already exists to allow the restart of travel without compromising health and safety, and making rapid and reliable testing more widely available will be a key element of an even broader economic reopening…”

And now back to the news.

Stay well!

Lois Pasternak

Today’s issue is all about the numbers.

Both the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Travel & Tourism Council recently issued reports laying out the severe impact that the restrictions on travel introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have had on the tourism industry around the world. While both organizations note a slight improvement compared to earlier this year, they implore governmental agencies to adopt integrated international testing regimes in place of blanket quarantines, especially as coronavirus cases begin to spike again. See stories on pages 1 & 4.

The world’s leading travel retail operator Dufry released its third quarter and nine-month earnings, detailing how it has been responding to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. TMI also presents the financial results from Hudson Group, which pending shareholder and regulatory approval, will be fully integrated into Dufry as an indirect wholly owned subsidiary and delisted from the New York Stock Exchange by the end of this year. See pages 2 & 3.

On the retail side, Dufry unveiled a new duty-paid brand called paradise ANECDOTE, opening on Nov. 5 at the Circle at Zurich. Page 1.

In more number crunching, IATA announced that air traffic demand in September continued to be highly depressed. Details on page 5.

CRUISE UPDATES

Carnival, NSC, NCL and Royal Caribbean extend U.S. cruise cancellations though the end of the year.

Even though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lifted the No Sail Order, the cruise lines are taking their time to make sure they meet the requirements of the new Conditional Sail protocols and ensure the health and safety of their crew and passengers. Page 5.

Popular tourism resort Key West in Florida has voted in three resolutions that will restrict cruise traffic and large ships. Page 5.