GLOBAL business travel net revenue grew by 12.2 per cent in July, while global leisure travel revenue increased 8.6 per cent, according to data released from Pegasus Solutions in The Pegasus View.
The report shows resiliency in both the corporate and leisure markets despite the US credit downgrade by S&P on August 5 and corporate travel recovery continued in July in the face of uncertainty about the financial markets regarding the August 2 US debt default deadline.
Bookings grew by 5.8 per cent over 2010, while global average daily rates (ADR) gained momentum over June’s pace, rising by six per cent over the previous year.
Mike Kistner, CEO of Pegasus Solutions, said the fickleness of the financial markets failed to make a marked impact on the industry.
“Unlike events that may put the personal health and safety of travellers at risk, negative and uncertain financial news did not compel travellers to cancel planned trips, whether they had already booked or not,” said Kistner. “Long-term strain could ultimately lead to a slow-down in the recovery but, in the short-term, it is events like earthquakes and hurricanes that will have the most immediate effect on bookings, though on a more regionalised level. It is good news for the travel industry that travellers failed to ‘catch’ the nervousness of investors.”
Leisure travel bookings grew by 3.1 per cent over 2010 globally, which did represent a slightly slower pace than June growth. However, leisure ADR grew by five per cent up from June’s 4.7 per cent and two points higher than the year-to-date pace of three per cent. The solid ADR counteracted slower booking growth to lead to an 8.6 per cent gain in leisure revenue over 2010.
Through to the end of 2011, the leisure channel is expected to improve over 2010 in terms of bookings and ADR. GDS channel activity shows that corporate travel demand will continue to drive more bookings with steady ADR growth.
Data reported in The Pegasus View comes from billions of transactions processed monthly by Pegasus Solutions, the world’s single largest global processor of hotel transactions. It is the only industry report to reflect data drawn from both GDS and ADS transactions, representing the business and leisure markets respectively for approximately 90,000 hotels worldwide.