The financial impact of global travel decline is expected to be 10 times the Great Recession and 9/11. No one in the travel and tourism industry really expects (or expected) a full recovery for the business travel sector of the global travel industry. After all, travel for business is more a symptom of the overall industry’s health, not a driver of it.

Even so, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) left no doubt about the course of the industry when it released its annual BTI™ Outlook, a detailed analysis of business travel in 2020, with projections for 2021 and beyond.*

The cold, hard facts:  

—The true global financial impact of COVID-19 began in Q2 2020, resulting in an expected 68 percent decline (to $738 billion) from April 1, 2020 to the end of the year.

—Because of the relatively strong (pre-COVID) first quarter of 2020, global spending on business travel is expected to show a 52 percent decrease for all of 2020 (to $694 billion USD), down from $1.4 trillion USD in 2019.

Other facts and finding that stand out in the report include the following. 

2020 Losses and Challenges:

—Global GDP is expected to have declined 4.4 percent in 2020, an unprecedented drop-off when compared to the -0.5 percent decline experienced during the Great Recession of 2008.

 —Global trade is expected to contract by almost 11 percent, due to lockdowns that temporarily froze the movement of people and goods and forced a review of supply chain networks, resulting in many countries looking to source locally.

—Coming into 2020, business travel had grown for 10 consecutive years, with an average growth rate of 5.1 percent per year.

— As the following table suggests, the impact of COVID-19 on business travel has varied by region.

—The magnitude of these losses and their impact on travel suppliers is unprecedented: the 2020 business travel spending losses are expected to be 10 times larger than the impact of either 9/11 or the Great Recession of 2008. Understandably, organizations with more exposure to sectors at the epicenter of the crisis are expected to face more volatility moving forward, including leisure and hospitality, ground transportation, retail, food services and energy.

Forecast on Business Travel Recovery:

 —A 21 percent increase in business travel spending is projected in 2021. Most of this gain is expected to come at the end of 2021 as vaccinations increase globally and consumer confidence returns.

—In 2022, the BTI Outlook forecasts further acceleration in business travel, including a significant pick-up in group meeting activity and international business travel.

—While annual business travel spending growth is expected to slow somewhat in 2023, it is projected to remain well above historical average rates of growth of 4.6 percent. By the end of 2024, annual business travel spending is projected to reach approximately $1.4 trillion, nearly equaling the 2019 pre-pandemic revenue peak of $1.43 trillion.

—A full recovery to pre-pandemic levels is expected by 2025.

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*The BTI Outlook, now in its 12th year, is an exhaustive study of business travel spending and growth covering 75 countries across 48 industries.

For Operators and Clients, They’re Simply Instagrammable: According to Instagram, the USA is the country with the most popular viewpoints in the world. Following the USA, it’s the UK.

So, where can one find the most beautiful views in the world, views that could drive individuals or groups to a destination? That’s what Unforgettable Travel Company has tried to do with a recently released list that provides tour operators worldwide with those places on earth most popular for memorable for travelers—according to the number of posts on Instagram.

A luxury travel company with offices in London, San Francisco and Split (Croatia) the company set out to discover the top viewpoints in the world. Said the operator in a statement accompanying the release of its list: “We took to Instagram to analyze the lookout points, observatories, viewing terraces, skywalks, and more that prove most popular with travelers—from iconic views such as the Top of the Rock to lesser-known locations like the Petřín Hill Lookout in Prague and Sky Terrace 428 in Hong Kong.”

Below, one can to find out the most popular viewpoints in the world according to Instagram.

Read the original article here.

Of all the findings in the 2021 report on travel trends* that was just released by RVshare, a marketplace for recreational vehicle rentals, what strikes the reader more than anything else is the declaration that “New York and Illinois are the newest ‘RV states.’” That’s right. In the midst of the coronavirus-driven global pandemic, it seems that the RV mode of travel and the destinations that they visit, are going to realize more travelers in the post-pandemic world.

The RVshare report has a decidedly domestic focus in findings—but they reflect the shifts and trends among all travelers. In its summary finding, RVshare put it this way: “The pandemic kicked RV travel into high gear with almost 80 percent of renters in 2020 being new to RVshare’s platform. According to new survey research conducted by STR, RV rentals will continue to be the new-found travel option of 2021 for long distance travel, staying at state and national parks and for adventurous family trips. With ongoing uncertainty around COVID-19, travelers’ preferences have shifted and new travel trends have emerged.”

These particular revelations do not exactly come as a surprise, however. RVers are not exactly a large share of the international inbound tourism market—one will find purveyors of the RV product at IPW and regional international marketing organizations in the U.S.—but international tour operators and receptive tour operators who have taken part in Connect Travel’s “Staying Connected” series of roundtable discussions this year have regularly suggested that, international travelers enjoy America’s large cities and urban destinations such as New York and Chicago, but that they would like to visit places further away from gateway cities. 

“Travelers are ready to swap city life for beaches, mountains and fresh air,” the report said. As proof, it cited these two numbers:

—Rentals in New York increased by +186 percent year over year.

—Rentals in Illinois increased by +174 percent year over year.

The report also has a data dump that are rich in numbers and findings that the travel marketer—both international and domestic—will find interesting. Some of the key points addressed by the report follow.

Traveler Sentiment

—40 percent of respondents say they are unlikely to fly in 2021.

—70 percent of respondents said minimal interactions with other travelers is important. 

—More respondents plan to stay with family and friends this year than last.

The New Age of Live-Work-Play

We are told that “RVs aren’t just parked in your grandparents’ driveway anymore.” With millennials (ages 25 to 39) leading the way, people are changing their lifestyles based on newfound freedom with working and schooling from home or… anywhere. “RVs will become a mainstream travel option post-pandemic, especially for millennials.”

—Millennials are most likely to rent an RV in 2021—73 percent of millennials said they are likely to rent an RV in the future.

—68 percent of millennials said COVID-19 led them to find RVing more appealing than before the pandemic.

—61 percent of all respondents agree that RVs would be a good workspace.

Many will forgo the 2021 Travel Planning Season

The public’s desire and willingness to travel is still as strong as ever. However, there is a resistance to planning too far ahead with quarantine, cleanliness, and refunds all causing concern.

—57 percent of consumers surveyed are likely to travel either the same or more within the U.S.

—75 percent of respondents agree they need to be flexible when booking travel since COVID guidelines are always changing.

—63 percent of those surveyed won’t be planning vacations for next year as they don’t know what the travel guidelines will be.

—72 percent of travelers don’t want to book too far ahead of their travel dates

Where are RVers headed?

—Sandy beaches;

—Access to coastal areas;

—beautiful scenery;

 and

—close to National and State Parks.

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* For a copy of the RVshare report, click here.