WTM Travel Industry Round-Up
The World Travel Market London 2023 – The world’s most influential travel and tourism event, has come to a close after a busy few days – we saw key topics discussed including diversity and inclusion, the future of travel and responsible tourism.
The travel outlook: The travel industry faces potential bal economic downturns and recession but the outlook from mid-2024 is positive, leading forecasters have predicted.
In a WTM London conference session; Inflation, War and Societal Collapse, What’s Next for the World’s Economies? we heard how high inflation, soaring borrowing costs and the Middle East conflict would impinge on buying patterns in many countries.
Dave Goodger, Managing Director, EMEA, Tourism Economics said: “We are looking at a potential recession in a lot of countries. We’re seeing high prices undermining a lot of people’s earning potential and higher interest rates are a real shock. There are a lot of warning signs.” However, he said there were also positives: “People are diverting spend to essentials and cutting discretionary spend, but within that, they are still wanting to travel.”
Aviation experts talked about advances in hydrogen technology to help the sector cut its carbon emissions.
Speakers from easyJet, Bristol Airport, Airbus, Cranfield and Rolls-Royce outlined developments with sustainable aviation fuels, biofuels, batteries and hydrogen.
The queer travel market is set to reach more than double its pre-pandemic levels by 2030, according to Jenny Southan, founder of Globetrender.. Hosting a session on LGBTQ+ travel, she said travel spending from queer people reached $218 billion in 2019 and, by 2030, it is predicted to reach $568.5 billion.
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