Tag Archives: travel & tourism

Women’s Participation in Travel & Tourism Critical to Growth of Global Sector: WTTC

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reiterated the importance of women’s engagement in Travel & Tourism to catapult its growth and achieve a thriving and resilient sector at the Women Deliver Global Conference, in Kigali, Rwanda.

Speaking at the conference, Julia Simpson, President & CEO, WTTC, emphasised the importance of promoting women’s involvement in the sector and overcoming challenges for success in the business world.

The event served as a platform to address the challenges faced by women in the Travel & Tourism sector and explore strategies to overcome them, aiming to inspire change and promote equal opportunities for women in the sector.

The panel discussions shed light on the challenges faced by women in various aspects of the business, including barriers to entry, operational obstacles, and ecosystem limitations.

The event underscored the vital role of mentorship in empowering young women and girls in business. Through networking, opportunities, and resources, mentorship programs unlock their potential for economic transformation.

During her address, Simpson said: “It is proven that companies that have 50% women in their leadership make more money. This makes even more sense in travel and tourism where women make the buying decisions on where to go on holiday.

“It also makes good sense to employ women in senior roles; why would you exclude access to 50% of global talent.

“Rwanda has a great track record with a majority of women MPs in the Parliament. President Kagame addressed the Women Deliver, for the first time held in Africa, with real passion and a track record of gender equality.

“Putting women centre stage in Travel & Tourism will ensure a better future for the sector and the global economy. Currently, more than half of the sector is made up of women.

“By addressing the barriers and inequalities they face, we can unlock immense potential and drive sustainable growth.

“The ‘Women Deliver’ event serves as a catalyst for change, bringing together sector leaders, policymakers, and advocates to work collectively towards a more diverse and prosperous future.”

According to the global tourism body, women constitute approximately 54% of the workforce. Travel & Tourism provides accessible opportunities for women, but it also faces disparities such as lower pay and job security.

These disparities were reflected in the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, where a majority of the 62 million jobs lost in the travel and tourism sector were women’s jobs.

WTTC urges both the public and private sectors to play their part in promoting women’s participation in the Travel & Tourism sector. It says governments should adopt policies that promote women in senior management, such as mandatory quotas for publicly listed companies and state-owned enterprises.

The private sector should offer targeted professional development programs for women and create networking and mentoring opportunities.

Global T&T deals down by 38& YoY during H1, 2023: GlobalData

A total of 365 deals (mergers & acquisitions, private equity, and venture financing deals) were announced in the travel and tourism sector globally during the first half (H1) of 2023, which was a decline of 38.8% compared to 596 deals announced during the same period in the previous year, reveals GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

 

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database also revealed that all the deal types under coverage witnessed decline in deal activity. The numbers of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity and venture financing deals declined by 41.6%, 33.3% and 30.4%, respectively, year-on-year (YoY) during H1 2023 compared to H1 2022.

 

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, said, “Several global economies are experiencing distressed deal activity in the travel and tourism sector. There are several factors affecting the deal activity and notable among them include rising interest rates, looming fear of recession and the ongoing geopolitical tensions.”

 

Europe region accounted for the highest share of the number of deals announced in the travel and tourism sector globally followed by Asia-Pacific, North America, Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America.

 

While Europe witnessed 46% YoY decline in deal volume, Asia-Pacific, North America, Middle East and Africa and South and Central America regions witnessed decline in deals volume by 19%, 47.6%, 20% and 23.1%, respectively, during H1 2023 compared to H1 2022.

 

Several key markets recorded slowdown in travel and tourism sector related deal activity during H1 2023 compared to H1 2022. For instance, the US, the UK, India, Australia, France, South Korea, Japan, and Spain witnessed decline in deals volume by 47.7%, 44.8%, 21.4%, 21.1%, 33.3%, 20%, 62.1% and 69.2%, respectively, during H1 2023 compared to H1 2022.

 

Meanwhile, China emerged as a notable exception to the declining trend and saw 18.2% growth in the announcement of deals for the travel and tourism sector during H1 2023 compared to H1 2022.

India T&T sector to post annual growth rate of over 10% during 2019-28: IBEF

The travel and tourism industry’s direct contribution to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to post an annual growth rate of 10.35 per cent between 2019 and 2028, according to a report by the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), an Indian government trust, reports Shivangi Gupta for Moneycontrol.

In 2020, the travel and tourism industry’s contribution to GDP was USD 121.9 billion; the figure is expected to reach USD 512 billion by 2028, said the report, which comes at a time the sector is bouncing back from a pandemic-induced downturn.

The pandemic dented travel and tourism globally, causing the industry a loss of almost USD 4.5 trillion. Domestic visitor spending decreased by 45 per cent, while international visitor spending declined by 69.4 per cent compared to 2019, according to an estimate by the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Vinutaa S, Assistant VP, ICRA Limited, said, “The hotel industry has witnessed a healthy recovery in demand over the last 2-3 months. Leisure travel, transient demand, MICE/weddings and gradual pick-up in business/diplomat travel have been the primary demand drivers. Although FTAs have been reasonably healthy in April and May 2022, FTA recovery to pre-COVID levels could be a few months away and domestic tourism will be the prime demand driver.”

“ICRA estimates pan-India premium hotel occupancy to be ~54-56 percent in 2M FY2023. Pan-India premium hotel ARRs stood at ~Rs. 4,500 – 4,600 in 2M FY2023 and were only at a 10-15 percent discount to pre-Covid levels. Leisure destinations and some high-end hotels reported occupancy and ARRs higher than pre-Covid levels, with the surge in demand. ICRA currently expects the industry revenues and margins are expected to reach pre-Covid levels by FY2023,” Vinutaa added.

ICRA expects international air passenger traffic at Indian airports to rise 80-85 percent this fiscal year. By May, traffic had already increased by 72 percent over pre-COVID levels, according to a PTI report.

From January to March 2022, domestic airlines carried 248.00 lakh passengers, an increase of 6.06 percent year on year.

IAAI applauds Kerala’s decision to form Welfare Board for tourism employees

The IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) National Committee & Kerala State Committee meetings have expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister and Tourism Minister of Kerala for initiating to form Welfare Board for the employees working in tourism industry. The formation of a Welfare Board for travel and tourism industry employees was one of the essential demands submitted by IAAI.

A Welfare Board for the employees working in tourism industry is a unique decision in our country which will boost the restoration to travel and tourism. This initiative shows a new level of responsibility and leadership quality from the state government towards the industry, an unorganised sector and constitutes 10 per cent of Kerala’s GDP and contributes around 23.5 per cent to the total employment in the state, IAAI said in a statement.

Considering the relentless efforts to be undertaken for taking the country forward, IAAI offered its willingness to support and complement the revival of Kerala tourism. Since the catastrophic floods, Nipah virus, and the rampant spread of coronavirus shattered the tourism sector and left thousands of employees in peril, IAAI is proposing a facelift for the industry with a tagline – “Let’s Revive Kerala Tourism”. In addition, IAAI’s Tourism experts committee and IAAI’s new initiative Air Passengers Right Forum (APRF) jointly work on a proposal for submission to Kerala government, emphasising the requirement of a multi-transportation system in the state.

IAAI’s proposal encompasses an aerial connectivity project based on the UDAN regional connectivity scheme under the National Civil Aviation Policy of 2017, within the purview and framework of DGCA, conducive to Kerala’s local requirements and market conditions. And coordinated networking of regional airports and new airstrips to cater to smaller aircraft, seaplane, and helicopter services to provide last-minute connectivity for all tourist destinations in Kerala and extend to other south Indian states.

IAAI National President Biji Eapen chaired the meeting, and Directors Manu T. Nair and Aruna Shetty, Air Passenger Rights Forum Legal Advisor Adv. Ajith Marath, IAAI Kerala State President Ganesh Vaderi and Secretary Antu Chakkiyath also attended the meetings.