By Ben Demers
in News
The pandemic and subsequent recovery battered the global travel industry. At first, cratering demand led to mass layoffs among cruise lines, airlines, hotel groups, and other enterprises dependent on travel. Once health risks receded, however, there was a sudden increase in demand, catching many travel businesses off guard. Supply chain kinks, soaring energy costs, rampant delays, and understaffing led to months of traveler misery that has only recently eased up.
Despite the rocky road, travelers apparently will not be deterred from their trips, according to newly released data charting the surprising strength of the travel industry at the start of summer.
Travel Exceeds Pre-Pandemic High
Travel industry news site Skift recently released their June 2023 Travel Health Index report, which reveals global travel has fully rebounded and further exceeded pre-pandemic strength compared to just a few months ago.
Travel Health Index Overview
The Travel Health Index measures the travel industry’s performance using 84 travel indicators from 22 partners. As of June 2023, the global index sat at 104, an increase of 4% over the 100 peak pre-pandemic rating from April 2019. It also marks a 1% increase from the May 2023 index rating of 103.
At its lowest point during the early days of the pandemic, the Travel Health Index dipped to 20 in April 2020, indicating that travel performance had sunk to just 20% of April 2019 levels. Three years later, travel has fully rebounded and has been continually setting new records across all global regions.
Referencing the strength of the U.S. travel market, Skift research analyst Saniya Zanpure indicated that travel performance is expected to continue its upward trajectory. “Since airlines, vacation rentals, and hotels in the U.S. have outperformed 2019 performance levels, the travel index for the country in June 2023 is 8 percentage points above June 2019,” she stated.
Global Travel Gains Aren’t Equal
Latin America has emerged as the biggest winner of the global travel recovery, having proved the most resilient throughout the pandemic. By early 2022, Mexico’s impressive travel rebound accelerated, leading the region to exceed pre-pandemic performance. Currently, Latin America’s travel index performance for June stands at 110, outperforming all other regions. Conversely, Russia (67.9) and Hong Kong (69.7) continue to lag, affecting the global index significantly.
Russia’s tourism challenges stem from ongoing geopolitical issues, while Hong Kong struggles with a combination of harsh pandemic restrictions and political unrest, which have negatively impacted its travel recovery.
How Travelers Can Save in a Pricey Recovery
Traveling has become more popular than ever, as millions fully exit their pandemic hesitance to embrace both tourism and business travel. According to recent statistics, the overall cost of travel has grown 14% since the June 2019 pre-pandemic travel season.
To help travelers cope with rising costs, here are several practical tips to save money while planning a vacation:
- Plan your trip at least 28 days in advance.
- Consider flexible locations to maximize savings.
- Explore camping and cabin accommodations instead of hotels.
- Travel with a group to lower the average cost of lodging.
- Utilize credit card points and airline miles effectively.
