Market Update – August 18, 2022

Market Update – August 18, 2022

Market Update – August 18, 2022 820 312 fame creative lab

Please note: the following information has been compiled from the most important German-speaking Trade Media.

 

Current major topics within the tourism industry in the DACH region

  • Study: Impact of business travel on employee satisfaction: With the relaxation of travel guidelines, a steady increase in business travel activities can be observed. The pent-up demand for new impulses and relationship building is great, employees are drawn out into the world – but they also have concerns. The initial findings of the annual SAP-Concur study on business travel leave no doubt: as varied as the reasons for voluntary resignations are, they are also linked to current business travel activities. Three out of five business travelers worldwide (61%) say their current travel frequency is not meeting their expectations. What companies can and must consider in order to score points in talent search and employee retention is illustrated by further results of the current SAP-Concur study among 3,850 business travelers from 25 global markets and 700 travel managers from seven global markets. Among the findings, travel frequency, with nearly one in four business travelers (23%) who do not travel at their desired frequency, say they will look for a new job if their travel schedule does not improve. In addition, 92% of business travelers say they expect a higher salary, more employee benefits or more travel flexibility for a job that involves more travel. Flexibility is also essential for about 92% of respondents. The seriousness of the situation is getting through to business travel managers: All travel managers surveyed (100%) expect their role to be more challenging in the next 12 months than it was last year. Nearly half (49%) say this will include pressure from senior management to demonstrate the importance of their role. Read more


  • First EU country to test digital passports: A mobile app could soon be introduced across countries in the EU, completely replacing traditional paper passports. Finland wants to launch a pilot project. In Finland, the app will initially be used exclusively for flights to Croatia in the spring of 2023, as Croatia is implementing a similar project. The EU Commission has been encouraging individual EU states to test digital travel documents for some time. The information gained from these tests could make it possible to cross borders throughout the EU using only a mobile app. Read more


  • TUI still with a billion loss after nine months: „The figures after nine months confirm the trends and our expectations for 2022,“ said Joussen when presenting the latest figures. „We are experiencing a strong travel summer. TUI is secured and economically and operationally back on track when I hand over the chairmanship to Sebastian Ebel on September 30.“ Indeed, business came back in the third quarter (April 1 to June 30). Revenue increased almost sevenfold compared to 2021, but even that was not enough to bring the group into the black. For the three months, TUI reported a consolidated loss of 330 million euros. For the first nine months of the fiscal year (Oct. 1 to June 30), the books show a consolidated loss of more than one billion on revenue of almost nine billion euros. Financial expenses are a big chunk at more than 400 million euros. Equity is still negative at 190 million euros. Read more


  • Global study on travel trends 2022: The study, commissioned by the international PR consultancy Travel Lifestyle Network (TLN) in cooperation with the British think tank Thrive and AudienceNet, provides new insights into global travel behavior. A total of 179,446 people from 28 countries across the 5 continents participated in the survey, which was conducted by Global Web Index (GWI) in the first half of 2022. The study provides a global overview of travel trends on a global, regional and national level. Although travel is still of great interest to a large portion of the world’s population – despite economic instabilities and the resulting consequences – one finding is particularly eye-opening. Among the most important factors influencing the choice of vacation destination, value for money ranks first for 26% of respondents worldwide (ahead of recreational value, 21%). Due to the currently – not only in this country – high inflation rate, the tourism industry must deal with the changed consumer behavior regarding the rising travel prices. In all likelihood, the price issue will have a significant impact on travel-related purchasing and booking behavior in the second half of 2022 and early 2023. Obwohl das wirtschaftliche Klima den Tourismussektor aktuell belastet, ist die Reiselust unter den Befragten nach wie vor groß. Die TLN-Studie ergab, dass gewisse Generationstrends in Bezug auf den Urlaubskauf spürbar geworden sind. Vor der Pandemie war eine relativ gleichmäßige Verteilung zwischen „Millennials“, „Generation X“ und den „Baby-Boomern“ gegeben. Im Jahr 2022 zeigen die Baby-Boomer die größte Bereitschaft, wieder ins Ausland reisen zu wollen (19%, Millennials 12%). Umgekehrt verhält es sich bei nationalen Reiseplänen, rund 28% der Millennials möchten deutschlandweit verreisen, aber nur rund 21% der Baby-Boomer. Read more


  • This is how expensive business travel will be next year: Global travel prices are expected to continue to rise in the remaining months of 2022 and throughout 2023. This is according to the Global Business Travel Forecast 2023, published by travel management platform CWT and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the voice of the global business travel industry. The Global Business Travel Forecast 2023 highlights the three main forces putting pressure on the economy and the business travel industry. These include Russia’s invasion of Ukraine combined with other geopolitical uncertainties, inflationary pressures driving up costs, and the risk of further COVID outbreaks that could limit business travel. Prices have increased across most spend categories in all regions, reflecting pent-up demand, a desire for a better corporate culture and an uncertain economic outlook. The cost per attendee for meetings and events is expected to be about 25% higher in 2022 than in 2019, and a further 7% increase is forecast for 2023. Airfares for business travel decreased by over 12% in 2020 compared to 2019, followed by another 26% decrease in 2021. Economy ticket prices decreased by over 24% from 2019 to 2021, while premium ticket prices decreased by 33%. Prices are expected to increase 48.5% in 2022, but even with this sharp price increase, prices are expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels through 2023. After a 48.5% increase in 2022, prices are expected to rise 8.4% in 2023. Hotel prices fell 13.3% in 2020 compared to 2019 and another 9.5% in 2021, but the report expects them to rise 18.5% in 2022, followed by an 8.2% increase in 2023. In some regions, such as Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and North America, hotel prices have already surpassed 2019 levels, and this is expected to be the case globally by 2023. Global car rental prices decreased by 2.5% in 2020 compared to 2019, before increasing by 5.1% in 2021. Prices are expected to rise by 7.3% in 2022, reaching a new high, and increase by a further 6.8% in 2023. Read more

Current topics within the transportation industry in Germany and Europe

         

  • More than 2.5 million travelers in July: In July 2022, 2,518,977 passengers flew through Zurich Airport. This represents an increase of 85% compared to the same period of the previous year. Compared to July 2019, passenger numbers for the reporting month are -20%. The number of local passengers in July 2022 was 1,799,137. The share of transfer passengers was 28% which corresponds to 713,196 passengers. The absolute peak day since the outbreak of the pandemic was July 31, with around 92,000 passengers traveling through Zurich Airport. The number of aircraft movements increased by 42% to 21,647 take-offs and landings, again 80% of the July 2019 level. At 140 passengers, the average number of passengers per flight was 20% above the previous year’s level. The seat load factor increased by 16 percentage points to 85% in the reporting month compared to the same month last year. Read more


  • Ryanair announces end to extreme low-cost tickets: In recent years, the airline Ryanair was particularly known for extremely cheap flights. But this is now an end. The Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary, sees no scope for extremely low fares of between EUR 1 and EUR 10 in the coming years. Average ticket prices at Ryanair will rise from EUR 40 last year to EUR 50 over the next five years, the Irishman added. The background to this, he said, is the increase in the price of oil. However, O’Leary does not believe that people will give up flying because of the increased energy costs. He is counting on even more customers than before looking for low-cost flights. Regarding the recent difficulties at British airports in coping with passenger numbers, O’Leary leveled accusations against their management. The airports had had months to prepare, he said. It was the responsibility of the airports to provide sufficient security personnel, he said. A major problem in the UK continues to be Brexit, O’Leary said. Leaving the EU has turned out to be a „disaster“ for the free movement of workers, he said. Read more


  • Fraport dispenses with auxiliary staff from Turkey: The staff offered through a Turkish personnel service provider did not have the expected qualifications, said a spokesman for the Fraport airport group. Among other things, they lacked the desired airport experience and German language skills. The effort required for appropriate training does not correspond to the achievable benefit for an assignment limited to three months. Read more 

 

  • Amsterdam Airport wants to compensate passengers: Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, one of the largest in Europe, wants to compensate passengers who missed their flights because of long waits at security checkpoints. Money will be paid to travelers who were therefore unable to take their flight between April 23 and August 11, the airport operator announced. Together with a consumer protection organization, it has been determined which costs will be reimbursed. Accordingly, passengers will receive the money for a replacement flight and for hotel costs if they had to stay overnight near the airport. Those who used another means of transport will also be compensated. Those affected can submit their claims until September 30. The airport has been limiting the number of passengers since July. This is to remain so at least until October to avoid long queues. Almost all companies at the airport do not have enough workers, the operator explained. Read more

 

Destination news

  • Dubai: With 7.1 million international visitors, Dubai almost returned to its pre-pandemic half-year figure of nearly 8.4 million guests. Other data confirm the trend. Compared to the first half of 2021, which was still under Corona restrictions, the increase in international guest numbers was 183 percent.
  • Estonia: The government in Tallinn has now decided that, as of August 18, Russian citizens will no longer be allowed to enter the country on Schengen visas issued by Estonia. Russians whose home country is Estonia or who have their permanent residence in the Baltic EU and NATO state are exempt from the regulation. There are also other exceptions, such as for family visits. Russian citizens with visas issued by other EU members may also continue to enter the country.
  • Finland:  Due to the brutal attack on Ukraine, Finland, after Estonia, Latvia and the Czech Republic, is now also tightening its visa policy towards Russia: In the future, only every tenth applicant will receive a visa for the European Union.
  • Ecuador: The Sangay volcano, over 5,000 meters high and about 300 kilometers from Guayaquil, is causing flight cancellations and delays there. Four provinces of the country have been affected by the ash cloud so far. In addition to nature, an explosive attack with five deaths in the second largest city is also worrying the government, which subsequently declared a state of emergency.
  • Singapore: The annual Singapore Food Festival (SFF) returns from August 24 to September 11, 2022, with the theme „Real Foodies Only.“ The 29th edition of the festival will once again offer a diverse range of gastronomic experiences including: a festival village as well as a series of workshops, tours and exclusive menus at partner restaurants. In total, the Food Festival offers more than 70 culinary experiences.

 

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