5 Travel Insights From Skift Forum Europe 2022
Photo Caption: Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of Accor, in conversation with Skift CEO Rafat Ali at Skift Forum Europe in London on March 25, 2022. Source: Skift.
Skift Take
"Cautious optimism" was the informal catchphrase of travel leaders at Thursday's conference in London. The event showcased many examples of newfound agility, suggesting a brighter future for the sector.
Travel executives had grasped that the surprise war in Ukraine dealt Europe an aftershock, interrupting its uplift from the apparent taming of the pandemic. Yet many have sought details on the travel sector's trajectory.
A clarifying picture of the recovery in bookings surfaced on Thursday at Skift Forum Europe. Attendees at the London event also heard that some travel suppliers, resellers, and destination marketing organizations have become more agile during the past two years — making them better able to respond to volatility.
Skift Research's Wouter Geerts set the tone for the day while sharing data on the uneven pace of recovery. A spreading performance gap among sectors and markets was clear — which Geerts called "travel's polarized recovery."
Bookings remained down relative to the historical pattern, according to January data pulled by Skift Research. In France, future bookings for flights in January were down 57 percent, compared with January 2019. In Germany, future hotel bookings remained down 71 percent versus pre-pandemic. In Italy, future car rental bookings were down 73 percent.
The numbers supported commentary from industry leaders throughout the event.
Bright SpotsAir France saw strong demand for summer travel, said CEO Anne Rigail. So the carrier has been expanding the number of flights it offers, compared with 2019, especially on long-haul routes from Europe that serve North America, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean.
Executives from the giant online tra
