Strong rebound seen ahead for short-haul leisure travel

CEBU, Philippines —  Experts in travel industry see a faster comeback of shorter-haul flights, particularly in the leisure category.

A survey conducted by Collinson, a global leader in traveller experiences and medical assistance, revealed that a high number of travel expert respondents believed that leisure travel would recover significantly faster than business travel, while in both categories, shorter-haul flights will make a faster comeback.

The survey, which was also in collaboration with Center for Aviation (CAPA), also pinpointed some key potential issues based on an in-depth survey of travel industry experts.

When asked to select the most plausible scenario in 2022 for the recovery of leisure travel, 27 percent of respondents in Asia said they expect 41-60 percent of 2019 levels next year.

With that in mind, members of the travel ecosystem should continue to prioritize the mental and physical wellbeing of travellers by ensuring there are spaces for them to de-stress and relax during their journey.

Meanwhile, the outlook for business travel markets is weaker than leisure. For short-haul flights, 31 percent expect to see 41-60 percent of 2019 levels next year. While 35 percent of respondents expect long-haul business travel in 2022 will be only 20-40 percent of 2019 levels.

As such, almost half (49 percent) of Asia Pacific respondents believe quarantine measures will be phased out by 2022, with a further 11 percent expecting quarantine measures to be lifted by mid-2021.

Yet 30 percent still believe quarantine measures will remain in place beyond 2021.

Most Asia Pacific respondents (58 percent) expect aviation market access arrangements by governments to evolve at different rates, depending on the region/market through 2021.

Over a quarter (27 percent) expect aviation market access arrangement by governments to ‘remain the same until at least 2022’, while only five percent expect access arrangements to ‘substantially ease’ or even just ‘start to ease’ as we go through 2021.

“It is therefore critical for governments and members of the travel ecosystem to come together and collaborate for the safe return of global travel,” the survey indicated.

The survey was carried out in April 2021 by Collinson in partnership with CAPA – one of the world’s most trusted sources of market intelligence for the aviation and travel industry – to capture a snapshot of the opinions of a specially-selected group of over 330 C-Suite and senior managerial level travel experts globally from leading travel industry brands.