Travel, Airline, Hotel & Tourism Industry Market Research

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The global travel industry is comprised of a wide variety of businesses, from hotels and inns to casino resorts, trains, buses, airplanes, cruise ships, tour operators and travel bookers, both online and physical.  The United Nations, estimates that more than 1.3 billion tourists traveled the world during 2017.  World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) found that the global travel and tourism industry supported 118.5 million jobs on a direct basis in 2017.  The industry generated $2.6 trillion in direct global contribution to GDP (gross domestic product).

In most parts of the world, hotels and resorts have been enjoying good to excellent occupancy rates, which enabled them to raise prices, while many new properties have been built or are under construction in promising markets.  Business travel has grown substantially in recent years, while leisure travel has been generally strong worldwide.  Nonetheless, when members of middle class consumers do take a vacation, it is generally on a carefully watched budget.  Businesses are sending large numbers of employees on trips.  At the same time, they are keeping a tight rein on costs.  Corporate travel managers are negotiating reduced hotel and airfare rates, while relying on advanced software to help manage and track employees’ travel expenses.  A growing number of business travelers are relying on Airbnb.com as a lower-cost alternative to traditional hotels.

Airlines in many parts of the world are enjoying high occupancy rates and excellent profits.  While 2018’s increases in fuel costs have been painful for airlines, they are flying aircraft that are much more fuel-efficient than those of a few years ago, and they have streamlined operations in all departments so that their staff levels are more efficient  It is also vital to note one additional shift in airline strategy:  today, they rely heavily on fees for services such as checked baggage, seats with extra legroom and on-board food.  This has contributed substantially to profitability.

Advanced new aircraft are bringing significant changes in the global airline industry.  For example, Boeing’s highly advanced 787 enables airlines to offer great enhancements to passenger comfort with extremely long intercontinental range, while the airlines benefit from a fuel efficiency boost of about 20%.  Airbus competes with similarly efficient, long-haul aircraft.

Perhaps more important is the spectacular demand from global airlines for single aisle planes to replace older models that are not particularly fuel-efficient.  Boeing is seeing great demand for its new high-efficiency version of its exceptionally popular 737, called the 737 MAX, which will compete with a similar offering from Airbus, an A320neo model with a new engine option.  Enormous numbers of both of these aircraft will be sold over the long term.

Discount airlines remain very important players in the U.S. as well as in Europe and the rest of the world.  Outside the U.S., good examples include Dragonair in China and Ryanair in Europe.  Norwegian Air Shuttle is competing fiercely with low airfares from Europe to the U.S. and elsewhere.

E-commerce continues to play an extremely important role in the travel sector, making booking convenient for consumers who want to compare costs and services across multiple airlines or hotel properties at once.

The cruise line business has enjoyed solid growth.  Consumers see cruises as high-value package deals, and cruise ships are nearly full at all times.  Some of the newest ships, such as Royal Caribbean’s “Allure of the Seas” are among the largest passenger ships ever built.  Approximately 12.6 million passengers sailed on cruises originating in North America during 2017, up from 12.4 million in 2016.  Plunkett Research forecasted that 12.8 million would sail in 2018.  The cruise industry is expanding into niche markets, including ships operated specifically for Chinese passengers, as well as more river cruises and adventure cruises.