Summer Travel travel tips

Wondering which airports are most likely to put you behind schedule during the busy summer travel season? If you’re flying to the Boston, Chicago, New York, or San Francisco areas this summer—or even worse, connecting to another flight there—be especially wary.

In addition to booming tourism numbers worldwide, travelers this summer have experienced scorching temperatures. That blistering heat has made travel difficult and could potentially create chronic health problems.

Ryanair on Monday posted its largest ever after-tax profit for its key summer season and said it expected very strong passenger and fare growth for years to come as customers switch from higher-cost rivals.

Global airports expect smoother travel this summer as staffing improves, but surging passenger demand during peak periods in Europe and North America could still bring long lines, baggage piles and delayed flights, an industry group said.

A shift in family holiday experiences and longer booking windows for tours are just some patterns shaping the upcoming peak summer season.

Urs Kessler, who runs Jungfrau Railways, a train that takes tourists up the highest mountain in Switzerland, was excited for the return of Chinese tourists after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted late last year.

All that talk of slowing air travel demand and a potentially weak summer? Throw it out the window, Delta Air Lines executives said Thursday.

Ryanair will likely trim some flights in August due to delivery delays from Boeing but there will be no material impact on customers, senior executive Eddie Wilson said in an interview on Tuesday.

Online travel company Cleartrip has observed a significant surge in summer bookings, with a 200 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The rise in bookings is a result of the customer-centric approach that the company has adopted, that instills greater confidence in people while making their reservations, claimed Prahlad Krishnamurti, Cleartrip’s chief business officer. Krishnamurti also said that features such as no-cost equated monthly instalment (EMI) options under a travel now pay later scheme offers customers greater flexibility and has fueled the demand even further.

Nearly 92 percent Indians intend to explore domestic destinations during the summer, making coastal state Goa and Manali in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh as their top beach and hill vacation spots respectively, according to Oyo’s Summer Vacation Index 2023. “India’s favorite mountain destination is Manali, followed by Kashmir, Mcleod Ganj, Ooty and Coorg. Oyo hotels in Manali continue to see an uptick in demand as summer travel gains pace,” the company said in a statement. Respondents to the survey also showed a strong inclination towards exploring offbeat and lesser-known destinations. “Mawlynnong in Meghalaya and Ziro Valley in Arunachal Pradesh stood out as the top offbeat choices. Following closely behind was Valiyaparamba in Kerala,” Oyo added. The survey also found that 13 percent of respondents wished to travel to pilgrimage destinations, with Kedarnath occupying the top spot followed by Vaishno Devi and Varanasi. “This surge in travel demand is a promising sign for the growth and development of the Indian travel and hospitality industry,” said Oyo’s Chief Service Officer Shreerang Godbole. A noticeable trend that emerged in the aftermath of Covid is the preference for shorter trips and rejuvenating staycations of 1-3 days, he said. The survey is based on responses of over 15,000 people across India via the Oyo app. 

The summer of travel is here — despite the murmur of “booking slowdown.”

After two successive summers of travel chaos, U.S. airlines are going all out to prevent large-scale flight disruptions in the face of rising demand.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, June 16. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

With Covid-related restrictions easing and schools closed for summer vacations, Indians are embarking on adventures that will have their friends scrolling through envy-inducing Instagram feeds. Summer vacations in India typically coincide with the school holidays, making it an ideal time for families to plan their trips.

Depending on the data you trust, occupancy of short-term rentals is both up and down. 

This summer has seen an enormous surge in travel demand with a record 50 million Americans having made plans to travel for the recent Fourth of July weekend.

Soaring summer temperatures across southern Europe could prompt a lasting shift in tourist habits, with more travellers choosing cooler destinations or taking their holidays in spring or autumn to dodge the extreme heat, tourism bodies and experts predict.

Travelers who made plans to hit the road this summer will likely notice the price of travel has gotten more expensive — in some cases, so expensive that many have decided to make changes to their planned trips. So why have hotel rates and airfaires increased from 2019 levels?

The Skift Travel Health Index indicates a bright tourism outlook this summer. The latest June 2023 Highlights Report shows global travel performance outpacing 2019 levels by 4 percentage points. The index now stands at 104, gaining 1 point over the previous month.

Nestled between the Adriatic and Ionian Sea inside the Mediterranean is a country smaller than the state of Maryland but rich with wetlands, national parks, mountains and home to 30% of Europe’s flora. 

Greece said on Wednesday it will offer a week-long free stay on Rhodes in 2024 to tourists whose vacation was cut short by wildfires that burned for days on the island in July, damaging homes and hotels and forcing thousands to evacuate.