Travel and Tourism Market

Travel and Tourism Market - Snapshot

Tourism is usually refers to the act of travelling to various locations, either for pleasure or for business or for any other personal purposes. Travel can be domestic, overseas, short-distance or long-distance one. It could also be either one way or both ways and purposes could be many. The global travel and tourism market could observe growth in the years to come due to a rise in its demand for myriad reasons.

The travel industry refers to the various facets of the wider service industry that caters to the desires and needs of the people who travel from one region of the world to another.

Rising Disposable Income together with Accessibility of Remote Areas to Shoot up Demand

The global travel and tourism market includes several other businesses, some of which are

• Food and Beverage
• Transportation
• Accommodation
• Financial Services
• Entertainment
• Travel Agents

The global travel and tourism market is one of the most competitive and leading ones in the world. As such, sustenance of the market depends on the quality of the service being offered. It is thus necessary for travel agents, airlines, car rental services, tour operators, and hotel industry make use of the latest marketing strategies to gain competitive advantage.

In the last few years, travel and tourism industry has witnessed substantial growth. Growing affordability of airline travels, improvement of accessibility of various remote yet beautiful areas and rising disposable income is likely to bolster the growth of the global travel and tourism market. In several countries, art, entertainment, wildlife activities, adventure sports, and other such activities have made moves to gather attention of both domestic and international travelers. However, in recent times the travel and tourism industry has received a blow from the ongoing global pandemic COVID-19. It is expected that once the phase of deadly coronavirus gets over, the global travel and tourism market will rise.

Travel and Tourism Spending Market - Snapshot 

Global travel & tourism companies are focusing on emerging economies such as BRICS countries. The travel & tourism industry is growing in China. Outbound tourism in China is expected to be a good opportunity for global travel & tourism market players. According to China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), the number of outbound trips by travelers from mainland China in 2018 was 162 million and is forecast to reach 180 million by the end of 2019, expanding at a CAGR of 16.4% from 2000 till 2019. This represents a huge opportunity for travel & tourism market players operating in China and companies are focused on attracting Chinese outbound travelers to provide travel & tourism services. The top destinations for Chinese travelers are Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, North America, and South America, etc.  

The European Union (EU), Turkey, and Canada have formed a partnership to attract more Chinese visitors. To increase the number of Chinese visitors, the governments of Canada and China named the year 2018 as the Canada-China Year of Tourism. In 2016, more than 610,000 Chinese tourists visited Canada and the government of Canada has set a goal of doubling the number of Chinese tourists coming to Canada by 2021. Similarly, Turkey is also increasing its travel partnership with China. EU has formed a tourism partnership named 2018 EU-China Tourism Year.  According to the European Travel Commission (ETC), the number of Chinese travelers visiting Europe increased Y-O-Y by 5.1% in calendar year 2018 compared to calendar year 2017. The top destinations for Chinese visitors in the EU are the U.K., France, and Germany. All these factors are expected to create a good opportunity for travel & tourism market players in EU, Canada, and Turkey to tap the growing Chinese outbound visitors.        

Across the world, there is an increasing interest among travelers to visit unique places and experience new things. It is observed that travelers across the globe are spending more on experiences compared to materialistic things such as hotel facilities, food, etc. Millennial travelers especially want unique experiences that are a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In this environment, ecological tours are becoming increasingly popular. As per Travel Trend Report 2019, ecological tours are the most popular and demanding tours among travelers. It is also observed that global travelers are more interested in experiencing local culture and food habits when visiting a location. Globally, travelers are seeking more adventure related experiences than before.

To rejuvenate oneself from hectic daily work life, travelers prefer a multi-day tour than a single-day tour for leisure activities. Multi-day tour is the most preferred option among travelers and these tour bookings are done more in advance compared to single-day tour bookings. 

With rise in internet penetration, it is observed that travelers are getting more options for booking travel tickets. As per Travel Trend Report 2019, from 2017 to 2018, the number of direct online bookings decreased from 79.2% to 66.7% but marketplace booking increased from 3.2% in 2017 to 9.1% in 2018 and booking made through agents increased from 17.5% to 24.3%. Travel agents booking tickets online for travelers are known as OTA (Online Travel Agents). OTAs are using multiple channels such as online marketplaces, resellers, booking agents, hotels, etc. to manage high volume of ticket bookings. 

The global travel & tourism market consists of global players as well as large number of medium and small players. The report includes detailed analysis of the global travel & tourism market, SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats) analysis of the market, Porter’s Five Force analysis, key macroeconomic indicators influencing the market, travel & tourism market regulations, value chain analysis in various geographies, and travel & tourism trends across the globe. 

The report highlights major companies operating in the global travel & tourism market including TUI Group, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., Carnival Corporation & plc, Airbnb Inc., Crown Resorts Ltd., Accor plc, Balkan Holidays Ltd., G Adventures, Adris Grupa d.d. and OYO Rooms.