Bleak winter but better times ahead

According to travel analysts ForwardKeys, a comparison of year-to-date flight bookings shows that they are 86.8% down compared to the first 15 weeks of 2019.

Bookings from Asia Pacific are down by more than 100%, which means that in the period, new bookings were outweighed by cancellations.

Bookings from Europe were down by 84.7%, from the Americas were down by 75.9% and from Africa & the Middle East were down by 71.4%.

Throughout March, there have been effectively no new bookings, as well as a massive wave of cancellations – and that pattern has continued into the first two weeks of April.

So, pretty dire figures and should they continue we are bound to see a collapse of several major airlines and their supplier networks.

This will only be averted by a rapid upturn in travel confidence and a rash of flight availabilities. Do the public have the appetite to travel again? And soon?

A distant dream? The Sanchaya, Bintan Island, Indonesia

Preferred Hotels have recently surveyed their loyalty programme members on future travel plans

Earlier this month, April 2020, Preferred Hotels & Resorts conducted a global future travel survey with members of the brand’s loyalty programme – I Prefer Hotel Rewards – inviting them to share their aspirations and plans for future travel when restrictions are lifted or eased.

Nearly 4,000 I Prefer members opted to participate, and the results reveal a pleasantly positive attitude towards travel for the second half of 2020.

• More than 50% of respondents say they’ll book a trip in 2020, and most will do so as soon as travel restrictions are lifted.

• 75% of respondents plan to travel with family, having spent so much time apart.

• More than half of respondents intend to travel regionally or domestically, with over 50% of Americans planning to stay in the United States for their next trip.

• Despite a strong desire to stay regional, over 40% of respondents still want to travel to another continent.

• More than 80% will travel by air.

Debuted in 2013, I Prefer is the world’s largest guest loyalty programme for travellers who seek the unique perspective of the independent hotel experience.

More than 700 hotels and resorts around the world offer I Prefer benefits, and the programme currently has 3.5 million members enrolled.