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Travel industry future is uncertain at best

December 15, 2009 | Online Travel

So which is it: the travel industry is beginning to recover from the recession, or prices will continue to circle the bowl for the next 12 months? Attendees at the U.S. Tour Operators Association annual meeting in Banff, Canada, this week are saying the future looks brighter.

Seventy-five percent of survey respondents of a USTOA member survey in November predicted prices will be lower next year than in 2009 by an average of 5 percent, according to Travel Weekly.

And yet, 20 percent of member operators surveyed said that business had already turned a corner. Nearly 70% predicted a turnaround in 2010; of those, more than 30% saw business picking up in the first quarter, nearly 25% predicted a second-quarter pickup and more than 10% said the turnaround would not occur until the third quarter. Only 15 percent don’t see a recovery in 2010.

Meanwhile, Travelocity is putting out press releases showing its most recent data for hotel rooms booked over a holiday (December 20, 2009 to January 3, 2010) shows average daily rates have been falling as the popular vacation period nears. A week-by-week analysis shows that over a 14 week period ending November 28, overall ADR has dropped from $181 per night to $150 per night. The good news for the lodging industry: international hotel rates are rising for the holidays.

Get the full story at Uptake

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