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October continues to witness recovery in air travel with 44% growth in traffic

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has sad that the recovery in air travel continued in October. The Total traffic in October 2022 rose 44.6% compared to October 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 74.2% of October 2019 levels.

Domestic traffic for October 2022 slipped 0.8% compared to the year-ago period as stringent COVID-related travel restrictions in China dampened global figures. Total October 2022 domestic traffic was at 77.9% of the October 2019 level. Domestic forward bookings remain at around 70% of pre-pandemic level.

International traffic climbed 102.4% versus October 2021. October 2022 international RPKs reached 72.1% of October 2019 levels with all markets recording strong growth, led by Asia-Pacific. Forward bookings for international travel increased to around 75% of pre-pandemic levels, following the re-openings announced by multiple Asian economies.

“Traditionally, by October we are into the slower autumn travel season in the Northern Hemisphere, so it is highly reassuring to see demand and forward bookings continuing to be so strong. It bodes well for the coming winter season and the ongoing recovery,” said Willie Walsh, Director General, IATA.

Asia-Pacific airlines had a 440.4% rise in October traffic compared to October 2021, easily the strongest year-over-year rate among the regions, but off a very low 2021 base. Capacity rose 165.6% and the load factor climbed 39.5 percentage points to 77.7%.

“People are enjoying the freedom to travel, and businesses recognise the importance of air transport to their success. A recent survey of European business leaders doing business across borders showed that 84% could not imagine doing so without access to air transport networks and 89% believed being close to an airport with global connections gave them a competitive advantage. Governments need to pay attention to the message that air travel is fundamental to how we live and work. That reality should drive policies to enable aviation to operate as efficiently as possible while supporting the industry’s 2050 Net Zero emission goals with meaningful incentives to encourage the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels,” said Walsh.

 

APAC hotel occupancy moves towards recovery with a strong outlook for Q4: Amadeus’ Demand360 data

As countries in Asia Pacific actively lift travel restrictions, Amadeus’ business intelligence data is showing strong recovery indicators for the remainder of 2022, and evidence of growing traveler confidence as the sector looks towards 2023.

For the months of July – September 2022, APAC hotel occupancy hit an average of nearly 60%, just three percentage points shy of the same months in 2019, according to Amadeus’ Demand360 data.

For September 2022, hotels in Singapore saw an occupancy average of 75% with a 13% growth in average daily rate and 10% increase in RevPAR compared with the same timeframe in 2019, while October 2022 bookings are outpacing pre-pandemic levels – a 2% increase from 3 years ago.

Mirroring the recovery of occupancy rates is the stabilization of booking lead times. 2022 now virtually matches the booking behaviors seen in 2019 with 64% of global bookings made in the 0–7-day window versus 60% of bookings made in this timeframe in 2019. As booking lead times improve, this implies increasing traveler confidence as people make longer term commitments globally.

Moving from leisure to group travel, group occupancies in the region have consistently been between 2-3% of pre-pandemic levels as the conference sector rebounds in 2022. Australia and New Zealand are reporting strong conference season numbers for Q4. Looking ahead, Amadeus data shows that APAC group bookings are now also starting to extend more confidently into next year, with 1.8 million bookings already made for H1 2023.

Another segment seeing steady recovery as the year continues is business travel. 2022 is closing the gap to 2019 levels according to Amadeus’ Agency360 data, which reveals that APAC hotel bookings across all major global distribution systems (GDS) tripled in September compared to January 2022. At the start of this year, hotel booking volumes fell behind 2019 performance by 77%, but this gap has progressively closed over the months, with GDS bookings in September finishing 17% behind 2019 levels.

This is supported by a new Amadeus survey of global travel agents, in which 55% of agents from APAC say they are using GDS platforms more now than in 2019, the highest percentage out of all regions.

Maria Taylor, Head of Commercial, Hospitality, Asia Pacific, Amadeus, concludes, “It is extremely encouraging to see such positive hospitality trends in Asia Pacific. As countries start to ease restrictions, demand for travel looks set to continue to build in the forthcoming months. It is essential that hoteliers and destination marketers have accurate, forward-looking data insights to enable them to maximize their revenue strategies, confidently plan for larger groups, and consider their distribution mix to offer a wide variety of promotions and accommodations. With this insight, they can also understand more about who is travelling, enabling them to deliver a truly differentiated experience.”

SriLankan Airlines to Host Over 150 International Travel Trade Partners in November

The conference will help the country’s tourism recovery initiative

SriLankan Airlines, in order to support the country’s tourism recovery drive, will be hosting over 150 international travel agents in Sri Lanka for a commercial conference and a travel mart in mid-November this year. This will be the first time in recent history that such a large representation of the international travel trade industry has arrived in the country for an interactive initiative.

Commenting on this, SriLankan Airlines, Chief Executive Officer, Richard Nuttall said, “Now the country is moving forward, the travel advisories are lifted, fuel is available, and it is time for us to rejuvenate tourism back to experience the wonders of Sri Lanka. The time has come when as SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier, we would like to demonstrate and show our valued partners across the network, that there was never a better time to visit and to raise awareness across the industry.”

Accordingly, the conference will bring together the travel trade fraternity from across the SriLankan network, focusing on those who significantly offer Sri Lanka in their product portfolio. The visiting agents will be apprised on Sri Lanka’s tourism aspirations, the airline’s commercial outlook, and will be given a first-hand experience on the country’s ground situation to reassure them of the island’s readiness and stature to host any type of traveler.

The conference will be followed by a travel mart, where Sri Lankan tour operators and destination management companies will be given the chance to interact with the visiting agents to explore business opportunities.

The Airline currently connects a range of destinations into Sri Lanka which includes leading tourism feeder markets such as the UK, Germany, France, India, and Australia. The National Carrier has continued to support the country’s recovery efforts in the face of all recent challenges and has effectively and proactively steered many initiatives to retain the faith of travelers on destination Sri Lanka.

International passenger traffic at Indian airports to hit 80-85% of pre-Covid level: ICRA

Credit ratings agency Icra revised upward its projection of international air passenger traffic at Indian airports at 80-85 per cent of the pre-pandemic volumes during this fiscal.

The volume of such travellers has already touched 72 per cent of the pre-Covid level in May.

The steep recovery in international passengers’ demand came on the back of resumption of scheduled flight operations in late March in the wake of easing of travel restrictions norms and resilient passenger demand, Icra said in a release.

Major destinations driving the international traffic demand are Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe, it said.

Commercial operations of international flights resumed on March 27 after a hiatus of two years amid COVID-19 pandemic. During that period international operations were limited to countries through special flights under the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ and bilateral ‘air transport bubble’ agreements with several countries.

The ramp-up is healthy with international passenger traffic reaching 63 per cent and 72 per cent of pre-Covid levels (similar period in 2019) in April and May, respectively, this year compared to the recovery of less than 50 per cent to that of pre-pandemic levels during FY22, the ratings agency said.

Icra said it also expects the ramp-up in the overall passenger traffic to 96-97 per cent of the pre-Covid levels in FY23 on the back of a strong and sharp recovery in domestic passenger traffic and the resumption of international commercial operations.

The recovery in domestic passenger traffic was strong post-Omicron and has reached 98 per cent of pre-Covid levels in April and May, it said, adding, overall, passenger traffic has reached 93 per cent of pre-Covid levels in May.

“Resumption of international commercial operations has accelerated the traffic recovery. Considering the healthy ramp-up in international traffic in the last two months, Icra expects international traffic to reach 80-85 per cent of the pre-Covid level in FY23 as against earlier estimates of 70-75 per cent,” said Abhishek Lahoti, senior analyst, for corporate ratings, Icra.

Further, as expected, the recovery of domestic passenger traffic was sharp and much faster post-Omicron, he said.

The recovery trend in traffic was supported by the easing of travel restrictions norms and resilient demand, according to Lahoti who expects domestic air travel to recover back to pre-Covid levels in FY23 and the international traffic in FY24. (Source FE)

Airports in India record 35% more passengers in August

Indian airports catered to about 14.26 million passengers in August, a 35% increase sequentially, highlighting a sustained recovery in air travel demand in line with economic recovery and the progress on vaccinations.

The airports had catered to around 10.53 million passengers in July, according to data from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the state-run operator of most airports in the country.

The number of international passengers in August rose to 1.29 million from 0.80 million in July, while domestic traffic grew to 12.97 million from 9.73 million in that period.

New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad were the top airports in terms of domestic traffic, while New Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi and Hyderabad were the busiest airports for international traffic during August, the data showed.

New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport saw more than 2.6 million domestic passengers in August, up from about 2 million in July. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport recorded about 1.4 million domestic passengers in August, up from about 1 million in the previous month.

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport and Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport registered 1.18 million and 934,676 domestic passengers, respectively, in August, up from 878,823 and 687,636 passengers in the previous month.

In terms of international passenger traffic, the New Delhi airport recorded 398,722 passengers in August, up from 266,533 in July, while Mumbai recorded 184,787 passengers during the month, up from 101,203 in July.

Kochi and Hyderabad airports registered 155,322 and 87,645 international passengers respectively in August. These airports had reported 84,587 and 54,375 international passengers, respectively in July. (Source HT)

California reopens for tourism business

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California’s tourism economy has fully opened for business on Tuesday with the relaxation of remaining business capacity restrictions and other limitations related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gov. Newsom set Tuesday for the state’s total economic reopening following plunging case rates and vigorous efforts to vaccinate Californians. California still encourages visitors to get vaccinated and, in line with CDC regulations, wear face coverings in congested environments.

“For the first time since the pandemic began, visitors can now take in the full range of only-in-California, unforgettable vacation experiences,” said Caroline Beteta, President and CEO of Visit California. “California is a place that welcomes all people and all dreams, and the time to travel here is now.”

The Golden State has one of the nation’s best per capita case rates for both recent weeks and the lifetime of the pandemic and ranks in the top 20 states in vaccination rates.

“Californians have stepped up throughout the last 15 months – sacrificing for public health amid economic hardship for many,” said Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton and chair of the California Assembly’s Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media. “Make no mistake, the tourism industry is poised to roar back and reestablish itself as a reliable economic driver and job producer.”

Relaxing business guidance means:
• Hotels, restaurants, wineries, bars, live music venues, cardrooms, breweries, museums, zoos, retail centers, family entertainment centers and aquariums are open without capacity restrictions.
• All state and national parks and beaches are open.

Consumer research and advance booking data reflect a huge pent-up demand to plan vacations and travel. Research developed with Tourism Economics show full recovery of California’s tourism economy to 2019’s record levels of visitor spending, taxes generated and employment could take until 2024. But Californians themselves can ignite a robust comeback.

“All Californians have a stake in tourism’s rapid recovery, and all Californians can help accelerate it,” said Gene Zanger, Wwner of Casa de Fruta and incoming Chairman of the Visit California Board of Directors. “I encourage Californians to take their vacations in their home state this year to support their fellow Californians and the hotels, restaurants and other small businesses that employ them.”

“It is clear that people are ready to explore all that California has to offer. That is certainly the case in San Diego as visitors from around the state and the country are coming here to relax, rejuvenate and reconnect with loved ones while making new memories,” said Visit California Board Member and San Diego Tourism Authority President & CEO, Julie Coker. “As we continue on our road to recovery, it is imperative that travelers continue to follow basic safety precautions so we can continue this positive momentum.”

California’s reopening comes as California legislators and Gov. Newsom finalise one-time stimulus funding for Visit California’s marketing programme. The funding, sparked by bills by Sen. Mike McGuire and Quirk-Silva, is designed to jumpstart the tourism economy and supplement the tourism industry-funded marketing program that declined during the pandemic.

“This stimulus funding will help get hard-working Californians safely back to work and the tourism sector reopened,” said McGuire. “It will be a massive shot in the arm to the Golden State’s economy and help thousands of tourism-based businesses in every corner of California open their doors, rehire tens of thousands of employees and put out the welcome mat to travelers.”

Next week, Visit California’s “Dreaming on in California” campaign will celebrate tourism’s recovery with a weeklong series of experiences across California for travelers who missed key milestones in 2020.

The experiences range from an epic meal prepared by acclaimed celebrity chef Curtis Stone, to behind-the-scenes access at a San Diego Padres game, a magical Disneyland Resort vacation, a luxury road trip with stops at Marriott International properties across the state, and a series of 10 fairytale weddings at the luxurious Carneros Resort and Spa.