Despite the chaos at airports, airline cancelations and staffing shortages, travel industry executives attending Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas say consumers should begin to see their experiences returning closer to pre-Covid times, even if it costs more. While travelers and travel advisors say there are still plenty of gaps, officials of hotel companies, cruise lines, tour operations and tourist offices say most of the bumps are behind them – and us. It comes as the industry, which before Covid-19 accounted for about 10% of world GDP, is seeing an uneven recovery, with some destinations and providers recording record revenues while others struggle against lingering restrictions.
Destinations
For example, Japan has reopened to exchange students, group tours and business trips, while independent leisure travel is still not allowed. Michiaki Yamada, Executive Director of the Japan National Tourism Organization, hopes that will change by next year. FIT numbers, often high-spending luxury travelers, are at just 5% of pre-Covid totals.
Down under, Managing Director of Tourism Western Australia Carolyn Turnbull says the state’s travel businesses have been able to ramp up quickly with financial support from the government. Since international travel reopened in March, overseas visitors have reached 60% of pre-Covid levels. There are also new luxury properties, including a Ritz-Carlton in Perth and Samphire Rottnest, a private island set to open in October. Qantas is again operating its nonstop connecting London and Perth. Last month the national airline added its first-ever nonstop flight to Rome, also from Perth.
Tourism Montreal CEO Yves Lalumiere says he hopes that Canada will eliminate its buggy Arrive Can app and random testing soon. Despite the recent rebound – hotel revenues in July were 22% ahead of 2019 – the slow reopening means U.S. arrivals will likely end the year close to 30% below pre-pandemic levels. However, like virtually everyone at the conference, he believes the future looks bright. Montreal’s more than 100 festivals are back; over the past four years, the city has added more than 30 new hotels.
Sean Keliiholokai of the West Hollywood Travel + Tourism Board says since Los Angeles hosted the Super Bowl in February, ADR at its hotels has been beating 2019 levels. Even if occupancy lags, it’s still “day and night from the worst, when it was 8%.” International travel restrictions mean domestic visitors now account for 75% of totals, up from 60% before Covid. However, he adds that key markets like Australia and Canada are showing signs of recovery.
According to Michelle Buttigieg of the Malta Tourism Authority, hotels used shutdowns to start and complete renovations. She says airline connectivity to the island nation is back to 90% of pre-Covid levels, although, like many places, she says some businesses are struggling to reopen fully. “I think if everyone is honest, they will tell you, yes, there are restaurants and so forth that still have limited hours. Everyone wanted very badly to just have everything takeoff again like a rocket. As an industry, we are getting there, but we are still on the runway.”
Read More: Travel’s Uneven Covid Recovery Sees Record Revenues, Lessons And Lingering Obstacles