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.
25.08.2023 - 14:45 / skift.com / Rashaad Jorden / Wouter Geerts / Skift Research
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, November 18. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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The travel industry has made progress throughout the year in its rebound from the pandemic. But its final push to a complete recovery has stalled amid a possible global recession, according to Skift Research’s newly released Travel Health Index.
Senior Research Analyst Wouter Geerts writes there are enough uncertainties to suppress the travel industry’s overall growth. The Index’s average global score in October hit 84 percent of pre-Covid levels. Although that’s 19 percentage points higher than the figure recorded for October 2021, the Index has been hovering around the 85 percent mark since June.
Geerts notes the Asia-Pacific region’s ongoing struggles are continuing to weigh down the travel industry’s recovery. Bookings made in the region for future flights have only reached 30 percent of 2019 levels, with China still largely prohibiting its citizens from overseas travel.
Next, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is bullish that the metaverse, a virtual world where people interact with each other via digital means, will transform the business world. But Meta, like other major tech companies, is finding staff are experiencing difficulties using virtual reality for meetings, reports Contributor Julie Moline for Skift Meetings.
Although Moline writes it’s clear that more companies will adopt virtual reality, she adds that technological barriers are preventing some workers from joining and participating in meetings. Even Meta found that many of its employees didn’t have virtual reality headsets for meetings on its Horizon Workrooms app, which allows users represented by avatars to gather around a conference table. An executive at a virtual reality events company said it’s not easy for some workers to become comfortable with the headsets quickly.
However, Moline notes that younger workers are increasingly eager to embrace the metaverse. Frank Weishaupt, CEO of video conference device maker Owl Labs, said companies need to modernize their technology to cater to a tech-savvy generation.
Finally, electric vehicles have grown enormously in recent years as consumers are increasingly looking for greener ways to travel. And destinations across the U.S. are seeking federal funding for charging stations they believe will boost tourism, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.
The Biden administration has launched a program enabling communities and businesses to apply for grants to help pay for charging stations, which can cost more than $100,000. Habtemariam writes some destination marketing organizations are working
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.
Skift Research has been tracking the performance of the major travel sectors in 22 countries since the beginning of the pandemic in the Skift Travel Health Index. We have seen a steady upward trend, but the final push to full recovery seems more stubborn than we initially thought.
Skift Research produces a wide range of reports and data tools. The big trends in the industry guide us in choosing the topics we cover, and our readers, through their reading and feedback, tell us which reports and topics hit the mark in 2022.
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Travel’s performance dropped in November from 84 to 81 points, according to Skift Research’s latest analysis in the Skift Travel Health Index: November 2022 Highlights report.
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