Outbound travel rose by around 4% worldwide, in terms of trip volume, over the first eight months of 2006, representing the third year of sustained growth. And this trend is forecast to continue in 2007, albeit…
Outbound travel rose by around 4% worldwide, in terms of trip volume, over the first eight months of 2006, representing the third year of sustained growth. And this trend is forecast to continue in 2007, albeit at a slightly slower rate, driven in large part by a continuing increase in, and spread of, demand for low-cost/low-fare airline travel in virtually all regions around the world.
This was one of the main messages to come out of the three days of intensive discussions between world tourism experts gathered in Pisa from 1-4 November for the 14th World Travel Monitor Forum. The meeting, more commonly known as the Pisa Forum, was as usual organised by IPK International, founders and producers of the World Travel Monitor survey, and sponsored this year by ITB Berlin.
The average global growth in world tourism demand nevertheless masks some wide variations from one region and source country to another. European outbound trips should increase by close to 3% in 2006 – led by Italy, Spain and Norway, which have recorded more than double the average growth for the region – with other markets, such as Russia and Scandinavia also achieving above average rates. But the respective growth for Asian outbound travel will be as high as 9%. Outbound travel demand from India is running at more than 30% above last year`s level, and South Korea, Malaysia and China have also registered double-digit increases in outbound trip volume this year.
Moreover, contrary to popular opinion, China is a high-yield market. The Chinese rank second only to the Japanese worldwide when it comes to spending per trip – although a large part of their expenditure is admittedly on shopping – averaging EUR1,882 per capita in 2005 as against EUR1,891 for Japanese outbound travellers.
Meanwhile, one of the big stories of 2006 is the recovery of the US outbound travel market, up 4% in the first eight months of 2006, and 6% for overseas destinations. The Pisa Forum participants are also fairly confident that the recovery will continue, not least because some 30% of Americans now hold passports.
The sustained growth of outbound travel demand can be attributed to a number of factors, not least the continuing healthy global economy, an increasing immunity to negative factors such as terrorist attacks and natural disasters, and the robust growth being enjoyed by air transport sector. As the World Travel Monitor clearly shows, this is largely due to the rise in low-cost/low-fare airline travel, up 15% in trip volume in Europe alone from January through August 2006 – and now accounting for more than one-third of total international airline trips made by Europeans. This goes a long way to explaining the continued strong boom in short city breaks in 2006, which have now overtaken touring trips to become the second most popular type of holidays after sun & beach.
The UK outbound travel market, up 2% in trip volume so far this year, leads the low-cost/low-fare sector by a wide margin, with 44% of all airline trips out of the UK rated as low-cost/low-fare. This compares with 26% out of Germany. The British are also among the most enthusiastic online travellers, since 50% of all outbound trips (or, at least part of their trips) are now booked through the internet – nearly double the 27% German share.
The changing trends in travel and tourism demand and, in particular, the growing use of the internet for online travel booking, have had a largely positive impact on the industry, helping to reduce seasonality and opening up new secondary destinations. But they also pose a number of challenges for destinations and suppliers?
Consumers are demanding more and more control when making their travel arrangements, and new mobile devices are facilitating new booking opportunities as well as stimulating consumer interaction. More than ever before, suppliers must adapt their products to meet the changing needs of the marketplace, and destinations must enhance their brands to differentiate themselves from the growing competition.
A full analysis of the opportunities and threats identified by the Pisa Forum participants, as well as detailed information on trends in different regions of the world, will be available from the ITB/IPK World Travel Trends report, to be published in mid-November 2006.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
