Shaping the Future of Travel: Macro trends driving industry growth over the next decade

The global travel industry is poised to carry the torch of new technology and put it to use through more personalised, connected, and sustainable solutions. We are fortunate to be at the centre of this exciting world and everything we do is dedicated to helping our customers and partners shape the future of travel. Consequently, it is imperative that we fully grasp future travel trends – which is why we have commissioned a landmark report by Oxford Economics entitled Shaping the Future of Travel: Macro trends driving industry growth over the next decade.

The travel industry, more than many others, is intrinsically linked to global GDP. Travel companies tend to prosper as the economy grows and suffers during times of economic difficulty. However, we hope this report makes for positive reading as forecasts suggest that the key metric of global overnight visitor flows is likely to grow at a healthy rate of 5.4% per annum during the next decade, outstripping GDP growth of 3.4%. But of course not all will benefit equally.

The Next Step

The challenge for our industry now is to decide which markets to pursue, where to channel investment and how to ensure that travel companies are positioned to benefit from the expected upturn in demand for global travel.

It is evident that despite the healthy projections for travel, not all sectors, not all geographic markets and not all companies will thrive. Growth will in large part be driven by a number of rapidly developing economies, those companies that are pioneers of successful new business models and those segments that embrace innovation.

In Shaping the Future of Travel: Macro trends driving industry growth over the next decade, we explore macro-economic forecasts; the impact of emerging and frontier markets; the dichotomy of fortunes in business travel and whether the vision of a more connected travel industry is within reach.

This report is in no way designed to be definitive. Rather, the objective is to encourage thinking about the future, to stimulate and facilitate debate, discourse and discussion, so that we are all better placed to shape the future of travel in the years that lie ahead.

It is in this spirit that I invite you to read and share the report – and perhaps most importantly – provide us with feedback about what these travel trends mean to you and your business.