What are the major trends in travel?
Monday, 24 Mar, 2010
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TravelMole guest comment by Nadejda Popova, Euromonitor International
After announcing a record number of 11,127 exhibitors from 187 countries, ITB Berlin 2010 was regarded as a success.
Several major trends were revealed at the global travel exhibition:
Global tourism will increase albeit slowly by 2011
According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) moderate growth will be recorded by the travel industry in 2011 although developed economies will improve steadily.
WTTC predicts that spending in real terms will grow by 1%, while business travel spending will decline by 2%. Furthermore, real GDP growth for the industry is expected to reach 0.5% in 2010 with an improved 3.2% growth earmarked for 2011.
Over the long term, the travel industry is forecast to increase by 4.4% per year over 2010-2020.
Emerging economies are expected to be the main drivers of growth. China will lead the way, according to WTTC, with 95 million outbound visitors by 2020, as well as enjoying a strong domestic travel market.
Full speed ahead
Cruising remained buoyant during the impact of the global financial crisis with increasing demand outpacing other segments such as air transportation and exceptionally high investment by international players.
More than 16 new ship launches are scheduled for 2010 and will contribute further to the popularity of cruise packages.
In addition, a growing European market illustrated a strong revival led by countries such as the UK and Germany with demand in the latter doubling in 2009.
According to a survey released by the German Travel Association DRV at ITB, one million passengers opted for cruising in 2009, a 13.2% increase on 2008 thus German cruise revenues rocketed 14% to reach EUR1.9 billion.
The Invaluable Impact of the World Cup
The long awaited 2010 FIFA World Cup which will take place in South Africa in June and July presents a unique opportunity for the country to showcase its destination brand and create more awareness about its tourist offer.
2010 will see the number of international arrivals to South Africa and the sub-Saharan region surge to unprecedented levels.
Euromonitor International predicts that the number of international tourist arrivals in the country will surge by as much as 15% in 2010 bringing total arrivals to 11.5 million and 32.9 million for the whole region.
The event is being widely publicised and promoted now that the countdown to the ceremony has began with less than 100 days to go.
With high levels of promotional effort, South Africa is gaining in increased brand equity.
Equally, other African countries such as Namibia, Mozambique, Kenya and Ethiopia are expected to explore their tourism potential through new marketing initiatives and the promotion of new segments such as sustainable tourism and take advantage of the World Cup frenzy.
Phil Davies
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