Will 2024 be a Goldilocks year for the global travel industry? We’ve gone from “too cold” during the pandemic to “too hot,” as demand for revenge travel outstripped capacity. Could 2024 be “just right?”
30.12.2023 - 14:09 / skift.com / Seth Borko
It’s been a momentous year for the travel industry and the Skift Research team. Across our 50-plus reports, we created hundreds of charts to visualize the data behind the travel industry.
We love them all. And, dear reader, while we’re sure parents love all their children equally, for our analysts, there’s always a certain takeaway, or chart pattern, or data story that stands out above the rest.
To look back on the year that was, we asked the Skift Research team to share their favorite charts: Here are the top five, chosen by the analysts that created them.
“Our proprietary web scraping analysis of Google Hotels shows that Google’s introduction of organic results is leveling the distribution playing field – allowing the direct site and smaller OTAs opportunity to compete head-on with Booking and Expedia. Whilst the largest OTAs dominate the paid-sponsored listings, in the free organic results, there is no one commanding player, with Expedia.com and Booking.com as likely to appear as the official direct site and OTAs such as cheaptickets.com and bluepillow.com.”
“The chart illuminates a nuanced understanding of luxury travel preferences across income brackets. Notably, exceptional service and attention to detail consistently emerge as top priorities for all income groups, forming a universal definition of luxury. However, as income increases, the emphasis on exclusivity and innovation slightly diminishes, while the significance of authentic cultural experiences and sustainability rises. This shift implies that higher-income individuals place greater importance on fostering a deeper connection with culture and demonstrating environmental consciousness in their luxury travel experiences, challenging conventional notions of luxury solely tied to exclusivity and innovation.”
Skift Travel 200 Stock Index Data
“This chart aggregates revenue data from the 200 largest publicly traded travel companies to give an overview of how ‘swingy’ growth rates have been for our industry over the past three years. After a collapse in 2020 that saw industry revenue fall 80%, 2021 gave way to a strong rebound. This period of hypergrowth lasted through 2022 and into this last year. But the COVID “new normal” is going to give way to plain old normal in 2024. We have to remember that this can still be a period of strength for the travel industry, but revenue growth won’t be anywhere near as fast as it was during the post-pandemic rush.”
“This is my favorite chart since the data all comes from our quant model – a first in the industry where we have evaluated capacity and revenues by cabin classes. This creates a unique analysis of capacity and revenue recovery from two major cabin classes (Business and Economy) across
Will 2024 be a Goldilocks year for the global travel industry? We’ve gone from “too cold” during the pandemic to “too hot,” as demand for revenge travel outstripped capacity. Could 2024 be “just right?”
A scroll through what’s on offer in New York City under Airbnb’s “Experiences” tab reveals little of value in the way of adrenaline or anthropological knowledge—the two reasons to experience anything, in my opinion. If you want to pose for some digital photography, you can do so beneath the Brooklyn Bridge on Dumbo’s cobblestoned streets or sprawled alluringly across a Central Park lawn. You can book a crawl through Manhattan’s “secret bars” and speakeasies (drinks not included). Having seen my colleagues sail the Adriatic and traverse Rio’s rainforests by bike for this series, I wanted to find something in our own city—the best city, if you hadn’t heard—that was at least as interesting, if not as exhilarating. Only one listing caught my eye—a walking tour of Hasidic Brooklyn.
I've been traveling to Orlando at least twice a month for the past 10 years. Since I visit the city's theme parks so often, I'm always looking for something new to do with family, friends, or by myself.
If you're hoping to catch both flights and feelings this Valentine's Day, consider booking a trip to a resort or hotel offering a romantic package tailor-made for two. After all, nothing stokes the flame of a relationship quite like travel does, whether your partnership is relatively new or decades old.
What are the preferences and behaviors of Millennials and Gen Z travelers across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany?
It's not too late to join the cast of Royal Caribbean's Ultimate World Cruise , turned what The New York Times has deemed "TikTok's favorite new reality show."
When hearing the term national park, many think of places like Yosemite, Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia, and Grand Canyon.
One of the main reasons my husband and I chose the Northern Europe itinerary for the MSC cruise we did over the holidays was so we could spend a few days in Bruges afterwards. We became enchanted with the quaint, medieval city after watching In Bruges, Martin McDonagh’s brilliant black comedy, years ago and we genuinely fell in love with it after spending three glorious days exploring and eating our way through it.
It’s the live music that summons travelers to Austin, Texas; nightly performances coupled with major festivals maintain a steady intake year-round. Outdoorsy adventurers can tap on a dip in Barton Springs and tackle the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail whereas foodies are nourished by Tex-Mex eateries and taprooms galore. The accommodation scene is equally dynamic and Airbnb’s latest category makes it easier to fish out the coolest places to stay in the state capital. Recover from one too many Mexican martinis at these Guest Favorite Airbnbs in Austin.
From a list of seventeen popular destinations in Greece 1.116 visitors of the popular portal voted for the one they like to visit. Crete received 16% of the votes, followed by Samos (10%), Corfu (10%), Zakynthos (9%) and Kefalonia (8%).
As a travel and food writer, I am beyond lucky that my work takes me to dozens of dreamy destinations both near and far each year. But the very best trips make me reluctant to walk out the door for the last time, wishing I could hit a rewind button and begin the trip all over again even while I’m still there.
In the last few months, Beth Fletcher, a 39-year-old photographer in Derbyshire, England, built a small following on TikTok by recapping and analyzing the British reality show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!”When the latest season ended in early December, Ms. Fletcher was at a loss for content because, she said, “we don’t have another good reality TV show on until summer.”