17 May 2012
Research by WTO* and WTTC* indicates G20 economies could add 122mn international visitor arrivals by 2015, worth US$206bn, if they improved visa processes.
  They say 110mn of the 656mn visitors in G20 countries in 2011 needed a visa.
*WTO = World Tourism Organization, WTTC = World Travel & Tourism Council.

16 May 2012
ICCA data* for international association meetings in 2011 includes:
-No change in the top-6.
-Netherlands entered at 9th, Austria 10th, with Switzerland dropping from 10th to 12th, and Japan from 7th to 13th.
-By city, Vienna remained 1st, and Paris overtook Barcelona (sic) into 2nd.
-London moved from 14th to 7th, and Beijing from 12th to 10th.
* (A full report on this topic in the June issue of the Travel Business Analyst newsletters highlights some important observations on the data as presented. In addition, the newsletter calculates 5-year averages rather than simple 1-year data.)

15 May 2012
The March ‘TBA Index’ of travel stock prices, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows: World 81; AsPac 94; Europe 62. (Base: Dec 06.)

14 May 2012
For about 18 months we have been saying the Singapore Airlines group is in trouble. Now other observers are beginning to say the same thing (!), we see a strong turnaround*.
  The group’s seat sales were up 7.0% to 5.1m in Q1 (calendar; SA works on a different period). And much faster in the latest months - +10.9% March and +9.9% April.
* (Read a full report on this topic in the June issue of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter.)

13 May 2012
Thunderous changes for air travel to-from Germany if they become trends – all on a total not moving much, +1%. Over the first two months*:
  Asia Pacific. Australia down 50%! China and India down! Singapore startling 35% growth! Thailand 20% down!
  Europe. In size order, Spain down 4%, UK flat, Italy -11%!
  US . Down 10%!
* (A fuller report on this topic in the current regional issues of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter.)

11 May 2012
WTO (World Tourism Organization) says international visitor arrivals grew 5.7% over Jan-Feb.
  It puts Europe at +5% (Central and Eastern Europe +8%, Northern and Western Europe +6%), Asia Pacific +7% (South Asia and Southeast Asia +10%, Northeast Asia +6%), Americas +6%.
  The Middle East was still down, -1%.
  WTO has forecast arrivals growth for all-2012 at 3-4%.

10 May 2012
ARC, which handles financial settlement between airlines and travel agencies in the US, says airline tickets sold increased 6.4% over Jan-Apr, to US$31bn.

9 May 2012
Ryanair, after monthly falls in seat sales starting Nov 2011, sold 5.9% more seats in April, to 7.2mn.

8 May 2012
Our Asia Pacific ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current Asia Pacific edition of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2012: Feb +8E; Jan +8E. 2011: Dec +7P; Nov +7.0; Oct +6.2; Sep +8.1; Aug +7.2; Jul +9.6; Jun +6.0; May +5.3; Apr +7.7; Mar +1.6. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

7 May 2012
US airlines in April:
-AMR, the parent company of American Airlines currently in Chapter 11, reported traffic down 0.2% on capacity down 3.2%.
-Southwest RPKs fell 2.1% on a 1.9% fall in ASKs.
-United Continental RPKs increased 0.9% on a 2.0% fall in ASKs.

4 May 2012
Our Europe ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current Europe edition of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2012: Feb +2E; Jan +3E. 2011: Dec +5P; Nov +0.9; Oct +4.1; Sep +5.8; Aug +4.4; Jul +5.4; Jun +7.5; May +5.3; Apr +17.7; Mar +4.5. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

3 May 2012
In Q1, ACI says passenger throughput at airports in Europe increased 3.4%.

2 May 2012
Our world ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2012: Feb +6E; Jan +6E. 2011: Dec +5P; Nov +4.5; Oct +4.3; Sep +6.4; Aug +4.5; Jul +6.1; Jun +5.4; May +5.4; Apr +11.1; Mar +3.7. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

1 May 2012
Air Asia X sold 690,000 seats, up 7.5% in Q1. RPKs increased 12.4% to 3.9bn on ASKs up 5.5% to 4.5bn. Seat factor was 87%, up 6-points.

30 April 2012
The December ‘TBA All-Travel Index’ in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, for Asia Pacific travel, is at +6% over the same month in 2011. Previous month +3%.

27 April 2012
Easyjet seat sales in the first half of the fiscal year increased 5.4% to 25.2mn, with the seat factor up 1.5 points.

26 April 2012
Spending by visitors in 2011 increased 3.8% to US$1.03tn. Adding international passenger transport increased the total to US$1.2tn. By region, Europe was +5.2%, the Americas +5.7%, Asia Pacific +4.3%.

 

25 April 2012
IATA (International Air Transport Association) said RPKs increased 7.6% in March, of which about 2-points came from improvements following the triple hit in Japan and violent regime changes in North Africa in 2011. ASKs increased 4.4%.
  International traffic +10% on capacity +5% - airlines in Europe +8.8% and +4.1%, Asia Pacific +8.1% +4.3%, North America +5.3% +0.9%.

24 April 2012
Pegasus Solutions says average room rates paid by travellers on leisure increased 9.2% in March. Those paid by corporate travellers increased 4.5%.

23 April 2012
Our YTD through December calculation of international passenger throughput at ‘low-fare airports’ in Europe, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, derived from ACI data, shows: +5.1% (all airports +8.5%). Last month: -3.4% (+2.7%).

20 April 2012
The WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council) annual congress in Tokyo closed yesterday.
  Head of WTTC, David Scowsill, said: “[The travel business is] responsible for 255mn jobs [a value of] US$6tn, which is 9% of global GDP. This makes us bigger than automotive, bigger than mining and bigger than manufacturing. For every $1 spent in [travel], we generate $3 to the economy.
  The next congress is planned for Abu Dhabi in April 2013. WTTC has also introduced regional congresses; the first, the WTTC Americas Summit, is scheduled for Mexico next month.

19 April 2012
The WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council) says the travel industry is twice the size of vehicle manufacturing and one-third larger than chemicals manufacturing. This followed research from American Express released at the WTTC’s annual congress in Tokyo.
  It puts travel’s direct contribution to world GDP at US$2tn (2.8% of the total). It generates the same GDP as the education and communications sectors, and half the banking and financial services industry.
  Travel’s total contribution to world GDP (including direct, indirect, and induced impacts) of US$6.3tn represented a 9.1% share in 2011 - compared with 8% contribution of vehicle manufacturing and mining.
  Travel directly contributes more to GDP than vehicle manufacturing in every world region, three times more in the Americas and twice as much in Europe. Travel’s contribution to GDP is larger than the chemicals industry in every world region except Asia.
  In employment, after education, travel is the leading job creator with an average of 50 jobs generated by US$1mn in spend - twice as many jobs as those created by financial services, communications and vehicle manufacturing.
  In 2011, 98mn people were directly employed by travel. This is:
-6 times more than vehicle manufacturing;
-5 times more than the chemicals industry;
-4 times more than the mining industry;
-2 times more than the communications industry;
-One third more than the financial services industry.
  Including indirect and induced employment into account, there were 255mn jobs in travel in 2011, one in 12 of all jobs. That is higher than the jobs impact of vehicle manufacturing, chemicals manufacturing and mining, but below education, communications and financial services.
  Travel sustains more jobs than the vehicle and chemicals manufacturing industries combined across every world region. Employment in travel in Europe - 10mn in 2011 - exceeds vehicle manufacturing by a factor of three; and in Asia, by a factor of seven, and five times as many chemicals manufacturing jobs.
  There are more jobs in travel than in financial services, communications, and mining.
  In 18 out of the 20 economies analysed, US$1 generates 20% more for the wider economy than the average of all sectors. Travel also outperforms the majority of the key sectors we analysed in terms of generating GDP across the economy.

18 April 2012
In 2011 Turkish Airlines sold 32.7mn seats, up 12%. ASKs increased 25%.

17 April 2012
The January hotel-track in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows occupancy growth in points: World -1.6; AsPac -4.0; Europe -2.4; US +1.7. Previous month: -1.4; -0.8; -5.1; +1.6.

16 April 2012
In Q1, Cathay Pacific sold 9.0% more seats. ASKs +8.6%.

13 April 2012
The February ‘TBA Index’ of travel stock prices, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows: World 82; AsPac 98; Europe 59. (Base: Dec 06.)

12 April 2012
In March Cathay Pacific sold 2.39mn seats, up 10.6%; ASKs up 8.2%.

11 April 2012
Fraport airports (including Antalya, Frankfurt, Lima) handled 17.5mn passengers in Q1, up 3.9%.

10 April 2012
Frankfurt airport handled 12.2mn passengers in Q1, up 3.5%.

9 April 2012
Our Asia Pacific ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current Asia Pacific edition of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2012: Jan +8E. 2011: Dec +7E; Nov +7P; Oct +6.2; Sep +8.1; Aug +7.2; Jul +9.6; Jun +6.0; May +5.3; Apr +7.7; Mar +1.6; Feb +4.6. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

6 April 2012
Results in Q1:
-Etihad Airways sold 2.4mn seats, up 26.3%. RPKs +26.6%.
-Swiss sold 3.61mn seats, up 5.1%. ASKs +2.6%, RPKs +4.5%.

5 April 2012
Our Europe ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current Europe edition of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2012: Jan +4E. 2011: Dec +4E; Nov +1P; Oct +4.1; Sep +5.8; Aug +4.4; Jul +5.4; Jun +7.5; May +5.3; Apr +17.7; Mar +4.5; Feb +4.1. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

4 April 2012
Results in Q1:
-Southwest (including AirTran) traffic was flat, capacity increased 1.2%.
-According to ARC, US travel agencies sold 6.6% more air tickets in value, US$23.3bn.

3 April 2012
Results in March:
-BAA airports handled 8.6m passengers, up 4.0%. This includes London Heathrow 5.7m +6.9%.
-Fraport airports (including Antalya, Frankfurt, Lima) handled 6.5mn passengers, up 2.9%.

2 April 2012
Our world ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2012: Jan +6E. 2011: Dec +5E; Nov +5P; Oct +4.3; Sep +6.5; Aug +4.5; Jul +6.1; Jun +5.4; May +5.4; Apr +11.1; Mar +3.7; Feb +4.9. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

30 March 2012
Results in February:
-Airports in Asia Pacific increased passenger traffic 7.7%.
-Airports in Europe increased passenger traffic 3.1%.

29 March 2012
The November ‘TBA All-Travel Index’ in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, for Asia Pacific travel, is at +3% over the same month in 2010. Previous month +7%.

28 March 2012
Results in February:
-AAPA (Association of Asia Pacific Airlines) members sold 15.4mn seats on international routes, up 4.8%. RPKs +5.1%, ASKs +6.1%.
-IATA (International Air Transport Association) member airline RPKs increased 8.6%; ASKs +7.4%. By region – Asia Pacific RPKs +5.9%, ASKs +6.2%; Europe RPKs +7.6%, ASKs +5.0%; North America RPKs +4.9%, ASKs +4.3%.

27 March 2012
Airline results in March in Europe:
-Air France–KLM sold 6.37mn seats, up 6.3%. ASKs +1.8%, RPKs +6.8%.
-IAG (British and Iberia) RPKs increased 6.2% on ASKs up 1.1%.
-Ryanair sold 5.5mn seats, down 4%.
-SAS Group sold 2.4mn seats, up 4.5%. ASKs +3%, RPKs +9%.
-Swiss sold 1.34mn seats, up 7.7%.

26 March 2012
Airline results in March in the US:
-Southwest (including AirTran) traffic fell 0.9%.
-United Continental traffic increased 1.0% on capacity down 1.1%.

23 March 2012
Singapore in February:
-Airport passenger traffic up 11.2% to 3.77mn.
-Singapore Airlines seat sales up 6.5% to 1.4mn.

22 March 2012
WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council) says the UK’s air tax (APD; Air Passenger Duty) produces US$4.4bn revenue but causes a loss of US$6.7bn in visitor-related revenue for the UK.
  It says the UK travel business (inbound and outbound) increased 4.1% in 2011, but forecasts a slowdown to 1.3% this year.

21 March 2012
Our YTD through November calculation of international passenger throughput at ‘low-fare airports’ in Europe, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, derived from ACI data, shows: -3.4% (all airports +2.7%). Last month: -1.4% (+4.2%).

20 March 2012
Passenger traffic at airports in Europe increased 3.2% in January, according to ACI (Airports Council International).

19 March 2012
AAPA (Association of Asia Pacific Airlines) reports 17.2mn international seat sales up 7.3% in January. Traffic (RPKs) up 6.3% on capacity up 6.7%.

16 March 2012
The December hotel-track in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows occupancy growth in points: World -1.4; AsPac -0.8; Europe -5.1; US +1.6. Previous month: +0.7; -0.9; +0.3; +2.4.

15 March 2012
ITB Berlin, March 7-11:
-Exhibitors, 10,644. Down 4% over 2010; up 18% over 2000.
-Countries represented, 187. 0%; +1%.
-Trade visitors, 113,006. +2%; +88%.
-Trade visitors from outside Germany, 40% share. 45%; not recorded.
-Media, 6,975. -3%; +7%.

14 March 2012
ARC says airline tickets sold by US-based travel agencies increased 10.7% over January and February to US$14.9bn.

13 March 2012
The January ‘TBA Index’ of travel stock prices, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows: World 80; AsPac 95; Europe 58. (Base: Dec 06.)

12 March 2012
Airlines, February:
-Easyjet seat sales 3.98mn, up 3.7%; seat factor 87.6%, up 1.2 points.
-IAG (British and Iberia) traffic (RPKs) up 3.7% on capacity (ASKs) up 2.5%.
-Ryanair seat sales 4.47mn, down 2%; seat factor 76%, flat.

9 March 2012
Our Asia Pacific ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current Asia Pacific edition of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2011: Dec +6E; Nov +7E; Oct +6P; Sep +8.1; Aug +7.2; Jul +9.6; Jun +6.0; May +5.3; Apr +7.7; Mar +1.6; Feb +4.6; Jan +7.1. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

8 March 2012
Airlines, February:
-SAS Group seat sales 2.1mn, up 6.2%.
-United Continental traffic (RPKs) up 3.4% on capacity (ASKs) up 5.4%.

7 March 2012
Airlines, February:
-Air France KLM traffic (RPKs) up 6.2% on capacity (ASKs) up 2.5%.
-Air Berlin, Germany’s troubled airline but now directed by Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, reduced capacity 9.4%. Seat sales fell 4.1% to 2.04mn.

6 March 2012
CWT (Carlson Wagonlit Travel), a travel agency group, report 2011 sales of US$28.0bn, up 15.2%. It counted 61.9mn transactions, up 7.2%.

5 March 2012
Our Europe ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current Europe edition of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2011: Dec +4E; Nov +1E; Oct +4P; Sep +5.8; Aug +4.4; Jul +5.4; Jun +7.5; May +5.3; Apr +17.7; Mar +4.5; Feb +4.1; Jan +4.7. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

2 March 2012
Our world ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2011: Dec +5E; Nov +4E; Oct +4P; Sep +6.5; Aug +4.5; Jul +6.1; Jun +5.4; May +5.4; Apr +11.1; Mar +3.7; Feb +4.9; Jan +6.2. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

1 March 2012
In 2011, the Alitalia Group sold 25mn seats, up 5.5%. This includes its Air One subsidiary (which started as a hybrid, but is now a way for Alitalia to expand at lower operating costs), which sold 1.4mn seats, up 25% - low for a new operation.

29 February 2012
US outbound travel (by citizens only).
  Patterns in 2011:
-North America, 54% of total. Mexico 19.9mn travellers, 34%. Canada 11.6mn, 20%.
-Total overseas (outside North America) 27.0mn, 46% of total.
-Europe 10.8mn, 19%.
-Asia 4.1mn, 7%.
-Oceania 505k, 1% share.
  Growth in second half:
-North America -3%. Mexico -3%, Canada -2%.
-Total overseas up 3%.
-Europe up 3%.
-Asia up 5%.
-Oceania flat.

28 February 2012
The October ‘TBA All-Travel Index’ in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, for Asia Pacific travel, is at +7% over the same month in 2010. Previous month +8%.

27 February 2012
-IATA (International Air Transport Association) reports air traffic (RPKs) up 5.7% in January on capacity (ASKs) up 4.2%. International 5.5%, 4.2%.
  By region: Asia Pacific 6.0%, 6.4%; Europe 5.3%, 2.7%; North America -0.3%, -0.9%.

24 February 2012
Our November calculation of seats sold by ‘group airlines’ in Europe, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, derived from AEA data, for AF+KL+AZ, BA+IB, LH+LX+BD+SN+OS, shows: +4.4% -4.0% +3.8% (‘parent’ airlines, AF BA LH, +3.8% +3.1% +3.9%).

23 February 2012
The 15th IHIF (International Hotel Investment Forum) is scheduled for 5-7 March at the Hotel InterContinental Berlin.
  Our records indicate there were 1670 delegates at the 2011 IHIF. Official records now indicate 1550; differences in in- and ex-clusions could explain the difference. In the peak year, 2008, the delegate count was 1986.
  The 3-day includes Networking Xpress, where the organisers say that it is possible for participants to meet 60 contacts in 90 minutes.

22 February 2012
ARC, the financial settlement link between airlines and US travel agencies, says the dollar value of airline tickets sold by agencies increased 10.7% in January, to US$7.3bn.

21 February 2012
Our YTD through October calculation of international passenger throughput at ‘low-fare airports’ in Europe, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, derived from ACI data, shows: -1.4% (all airports +4.2%). Last month: +3.9% (+9.2%).

20 February 2012
Etihad Airways* sold 8.3mn seats, up 17% in 2011, on capacity (ASKs) up 13.0% to 51.0bn.
*Because Etihad is based in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, it claims to be the “national carrier” of the UAE. Its rival, Dubai-based Emirates, makes a similar claim.

17 February 2012
Booth sales for IT&CM China 2012, scheduled for April 16-19 in Shanghai, are 30% up, with 300 exhibitors (against 253 in 2011) in 6000sqm of exhibition space (5200).
  There are 50 new exhibitors, representing 25% of the exhibition, including Club Med, HNA Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels, Shangri-La Hotels, plus some new destinations - including Cheju, Dubai, Switzerland.
  InterContinental has the largest corporate booth, 120sqm. This is partly because it has the InterContinental Expo and the Shanghai World Exhibition centre is the new venue for IT&CMC.
  Buyers total 400, with first-time representation from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Morocco. 100 media delegates are expected. Total delegate count is expected to be 3000, as in 2011.
  Joining organisers TTG Events and MP International, both Singapore based, is CITS, a big travel agency group in China.

16 February 2012
The November hotel-track in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows occupancy growth in points: World +0.7; AsPac -0.9; Europe +0.3; US +2.4. Previous month: -0.5; -4.3; +1.1; +1.8.

15 February 2012
In Q4 2011 Air Asia X* seat sales were 640k, up 7%; traffic (RPKs) was up 12%, on capacity (ASKs) also up 12%. For the full year – seat sales 2.52mn, up 32%; traffic was up 36%, on capacity up 30%.
* (Read a full report on this topic in the current issue of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter.)

14 February 2012
Airport results for January:
-BAA. 7.5mn passengers, up 0.5%. Its main airport, London Heathrow, 5.2mn, up 2.3%.
-Fraport. 5.7mn passengers, up 6.6%. Its main airport, Frankfurt, 4.1mn, up 5.5%.

13 February 2012
US airline results for January:
-American. Traffic (RPKs) up 1.4%, on capacity (ASKs) down 2.1%. International +5.0%, +1.2%; domestic -1.1%, -4.4%.
-Southwest. Traffic down 2.7% on capacity down 0.7%.
-Spirit. Traffic up 13.4% on capacity up 13.8%.
-United Continental. Traffic down 3.2% on capacity down 2.8%.
-US Airways. Traffic up 3.8% on capacity up 3.1%.

10 February 2012
The December ‘TBA Index’ of travel stock prices, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows: World 74; AsPac 87; Europe 45. (Base: Dec 06.)

9 February 2012
Airline results for January:
-Air France-KLM. 5.75mn seats sold, up 5.3%.traffic (RPKs) up 3.7% on capacity (ASKs) up 0.6%.
-Cathay Pacific (with Dragonair). 2.51mn seats sold, up 11.9%. Capacity up 8.7%.
-IAG (British and Iberia). Traffic up 1.1% on capacity down 1.5%. Premium traffic up 3.8%, non-premium up 0.7%.
-Ryanair. Seat sales 4.39mn, down 6% and seat factor 71%, flat.
-SAS Group. 1.9mn seats sold, up 5.3%. Traffic up 0.4% on capacity down 1%.
-Singapore Airlines. Seat sales up 1.7%. Traffic up 2.4% on capacity up 3.8%.

8 February 2012
Our Asia Pacific ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current Asia Pacific edition of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2011: Nov +6E; Oct +6E; Sep +8P; Aug +7.2; Jul +9.6; Jun +6.0; May +5.3; Apr +7.7; Mar +2.3; Feb +4.8. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

7 February 2012
The hotels and casinos of Wynn Resorts* in Las Vegas (L) and Macau (M) showed markedly different results. (When $, all US$.)
-Occupancy. L 86%. M 92%.
-Average room rate. L $242. M $315.
-Table games. L 225. M 481.
-Slot machines. L 2536. M 999.
-Table games (win per unit per day). L $7188. M $25,030.
-Slot machine (win per unit per day). L $184. M $760.
* (Read a full report on this topic in the current issue of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter.)

6 February 2012
Our Europe ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current Europe edition of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2011: Nov +1E; Oct +4E; Sep +5P; Aug +4.2; Jul +5.1; Jun +7.5; May +5.3; Apr +17.7; Mar +4.7; Feb +4.6; Jan +4.6. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

3 February 2012
IATA (International Air Transport Association) member airlines traffic increased 5.9% in 2011, on capacity up 6.3%.
  International traffic increased 6.9% on capacity up 8.2%. For member airlines in Europe: traffic +9.5%, capacity +10.2%; for North America +4.0% +6.0%; for Asia Pacific +4.1% +6.4%.
  Domestic traffic +4.2%, capacity +3.1%. For member airlines in Brazil, +13.7% +11.2%; China +10.9% +7.8%; India +16.4% +18.6%; Japan -15.2% -11.5%; the US +1.3% +0.5%.

2 February 2012
Our world ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2011: Nov +4E; Oct +4E; Sep +6P; Aug +4.4; Jul +6.1; Jun +5.4; May +5.8; Apr +11.2; Mar +4.2; Feb +5.5; Jan +6.6. 2010: Dec +4.2. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

1 February 2012
AAPA (Association of Asia Pacific Airlines) member airlines sold 190mn seats, up 3.5%, in 2011. Traffic (RPKs) increased 3.7% on capacity up 6.3%.

31 January 2012
ITB Berlin, scheduled 7-11 March, expects 11,000 exhibiting companies in the 26 halls – unchanged from 2011 and 2010. Sales are at their limit, with capacity stuck at around 160,000sqm.

30 January 2012
The September ‘TBA All-Travel Index’ in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, for Asia Pacific travel, is at +8% over the same month in 2010. Previous month +10%.

27 January 2012
PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) expects all-2011 visitor arrivals will have grown 5-6%, compared with WTO’s world total of 4%.
  By region:
–South Asia +15% in October, +9% November; all-2011 expected to show 11-12% growth.
-Southeast Asia +7%, +3%; +11%.
-Northeast Asia +5%, +8%; +4-5%.
-Pacific +3%, NA; 0%.

26 January 2012
AEA (Association of European Airlines) estimates seat sales on its member airlines increased 7.1% in 2011 to 363mn. Traffic (in RPKs) increased 8%, on capacity (in ASKs) up 8.9%.

25 January 2012
Our October calculation of seats sold by ‘group airlines’ in Europe, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, derived from AEA data, for AF+KL+AZ, BA+IB, LH+LX+BD+SN+OS, shows: +4.4% -4.0% +3.8% (‘parent’ airlines, AF BA LH, +3.8% +3.1% +3.9%).

24 January 2012
STR says occupancy in US hotels increased 4.4% to 60.1% in 2011, with average room rates up 3.7% to US$101.64. In Asia Pacific +0.2% to 66.8%, and +9.5% to US$140.44. No data for Europe.

23 January 2012
Some all-2011 aviation counts:
-Air Berlin seat sales 35.3mn, up 1.2%.
-Cathay Pacific (with Dragonair) seat sales up 2.9% on capacity up 9.2%.
-Dubai airport 51.0mn passengers, up 8%.
-Easyjet 54.5mn seat sales, up 11.8%; seat factor up 0.3 points to 87.3%.
-Frankfurt airport 56.4mn passengers, up 6.5%.
-Singapore Changi airport 46.5mn passengers, up 10.7%.

20 January 2012
ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) says there were 2.7bn passengers, up 5.1%, in 2011. Other measures: international traffic (RPKs) up 7.4%; domestic up 4.9%; worldwide capacity (ASKs) up 6.5%.

19 January 2012
Pegasus Solutions says worldwide average room rates increased 8.3% for leisure hotel rates in December, and +3.2% in the corporate market. In North America +6.3% +5.4%.
  Leisure bookings fell 4.6%; in North America -5.7%. Corporate bookings -3.4% -4.5%.

18 January 2012
ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation) shows 3.9% growth in all transactions for ARC member US travel agencies in December to US$4.85bn, and up 6.1% for the whole year to US$82.2bn. The number of locations continued to decline, by 5.0%, to 14,052.
* (Read a full report on this topic in the February issue of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter.)

17 January 2012
The October hotel-track in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows occupancy growth in points: World -0.5; AsPac -4.3; Europe +1.1; US +1.8. Previous month: +3.6; +4.1; +3.4; +3.4.

16 January 2012
Following are destination visitor-arrival (VA) counts from last week’s Asean Tourism Forum in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. (When data is rounded, this is how it was presented. Some totals and growth are results of extrapolations by Travel Business Analyst.)
[] Brunei. All-2011 222,000 air VAs, up 27%. Forecast for 2012 is a 15% increase, which would take it to 255,000.
[] Cambodia. VA all-2011 2.8mn, up 16%. Forecast for 2012 is 3.2mn, up 14.3%.
[] Indonesia. VA all-2011 7.6mn, up 8.5%. Forecast for 2012 is 8mn, which would be a growth of 8.2%.
[] Lao. VA all-2011 estimate 2.7mn, up 10%. No forecast for 2012; we estimate 9%.
[] Malaysia. Problems with supply of data from immigration department to DMO. Estimated VAs for all-2011 of 24.7mn, which would be a rounded 0.5% increase. Forecast VA for 2012 is 25mn, up 1.2%.
[] Myanmar. Some uncertainty over 2011 data on whether the figure, 386,000, which the DMO says is 25-30% increase (our calculations indicate 24.1%), is an estimate for the calendar year or, the usual period for the destination’s data, Apr-Mar. Forecast for 2012 is another 25-30% increase, which would take the total to 482-501,000. However, these exclude the just-opened Naypyitaw gateway, which on the basis of early counts, may handle about 50,000 visitors this year. Some would be instead of Yangon.
[] Philippines. VA Jan-Nov up 12.7%, which would make all-year total 3.8mn. Forecast for 2012 is 4.2mn, up 10.5%. 
[] Singapore. Jan-Oct VA growth was 14.3%, which would make full-year totals 13.3mn. No forecast for 2012; we estimate 9%.
[] Thailand. VA all-2011 19mn, up 20%. Forecast for 2012 is 19.5mn, up 26%.
[] Vietnam. VA all-2011 up 18%, to 6mn. Forecast for 2012 is 6.5mn, up 8.3%.
*A report is planned in the February issue of Travel Business Analyst on this topic.

13 January 2012
Airline results for all-2011:
-The Lufthansa Group sold 106.3mn seats, up 7.5%. Capacity (ASKs) increased 9.8%, and traffic (RPKs) 7.0%.
-Ryanair sold 76.4mn seats, up 5%.
-Southwest Airlines traffic increased 6.4%, on capacity up 4.9%. Full-year load factor was 80.8%, up 1.1pt.

12 January 2012
STR says 373 hotels with 38,409 rooms opened in the US in 2011. That represents a 0.5% increase in room supply.

11 January 2012
Airline results in December:
-Air France-KLM capacity (ASKs) increased 6.3% and traffic (RPKs) 7.5%. Seat sales were 6.11mn, up 11.7%.
-American Airlines capacity dropped 1.2%, while traffic fell 0.9% - international capacity up 3.4% with traffic up 3.7%.
-IAG (which is British and Iberia) increased traffic 12.2% on capacity up 11.5%. Premium traffic increased 13.6%, non-premium 12.0%.
-United Continental traffic fell 0.7% on capacity down 0.1%.

10 January 2012
Airports run by BAA (originally British Airports Authority) handled 108.5m passengers, up 4.4% in 2011. Its main airport, London Heathrow counted 69.4mn.

9 January 2012
The new Golden Kawanua Exhibition Hall, venue for ATF 2012, expects 1400 Travex delegates to Manado later this week, 13-15 January. Pre-event registration statistics indicate that there will be 1000 exhibitors, 390 buyers, and 100 media delegates.
  The exhibitors will be in 438 booths and represent 390 companies from the 10 Asean destinations. Largest is Indonesia with 112 booths, then Thailand with 92. New buyer markets - Bulgaria, Egypt, Kuwait, and New Zealand. 48% of buyers from Asia Pacific, 38% from Europe.
  Speakers at the pre-Travex conference including two big names, for ATF -  Taleb Rifai, head of the WTO, and Martin Craigs, new head of PATA.

6 January 2012
Our Asia Pacific ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current Asia Pacific edition of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2011: Oct +5E; Sep +7E; Aug +7E; Jul +10P; Jun +6.0; May +5.3; Apr +7.7; Mar +2.3; Feb +4.8. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

5 January 2012
Our Europe ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current Europe edition of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2011: Oct +3E; Sep +5E; Aug +4E; Jul +5P; Jun +7.5; May +5.3; Apr +17.7; Mar +4.7; Feb +4.6; Jan +4.6. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

4 January 2012
The November ‘TBA Index’ of travel stock prices, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows: World 73; AsPac 90; Europe 45. (Base: Dec 06.)

3 January 2012
First glance through travel stock prices indicate biggest gainer in Europe in 2011 was EADS (+38%), biggest loser Air France-KLM (-71%). In Asia Pacific, gainer Air Asia (+49%), loser India’s Jet Airways (-77%). In US, gainer Wyndham Hotels (+27%), loser American (-96%). Full report due in February issues of Travel Business Analyst – which will also link those moves above to the local stockmarket moves.

2 January 2012
Our world ‘TBA Travel Industry Index’ in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, shows monthly traffic growth of: 2011: Oct +4E; Sep +6E; Aug +5E; Jul +6P; Jun +5.7; May +5.8; Apr +11.2; Mar +4.2; Feb +5.5; Jan +6.6. 2010: Dec +4.2; Nov +7.2. (Percentage change over previous year. E=estimate, P=provisional.)

30 December 2011
PhoCusWright reports that Asia Pacific represents 30% of the global travel market but only 21% of online revenue.

29 December 2011
The August ‘TBA All-Travel Index’ in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, for Asia Pacific travel, is at +10% over the same month in 2010. Previous month +10%.

28 December 2011
The annual Asean Tourism Forum is due to take place next January 9-15. ATF comprises two events – meetings of various Asean official and travel bodies, and the main Travex travel exhibition over January 13-15.
  The event is organised, as most years, by TTG Asia – which organises travel events as well as publishing travel trade titles.
  The location for ATF is Manado, one of Indonesia’s diving locations.
  There are expected to be 1000 exhibitors for 450 booths. Of the exhibitors, 30% are new. Buyer registrations currently total 900 from 55 markets, of which 400 will be hosted. In addition there are expected to be 100 international and local media.
  Some measures are different from those reported for the event held in January this year in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. TTG Asia reported 1000 exhibitors for 400 booths, 840 buyers, and 150 media.
  The event this year is the 31st. Each year the hosting of ATF is rotated, although Myanmar declined last time. Next host destination, for ATF 2013, is due to be Lao.

27 December 2011
WTO (the World Tourism Organization) forecasts an average annual growth in arrivals of 3.3% over 2010-30. In numbers, arrivals are expected to total 1bn in 2012 and then 1.8bn in 2030. (On that basis, we calculate 2bn would be reached in 2033.)
* (Read a full report on this topic in the December issue of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter.)

26 December 2011
Our September calculation of seats sold by ‘group airlines’ in Europe, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, derived from AEA data, for AF+KL+AZ, BA+IB, LH+LX+BD+SN+OS, shows: +8.1% -1.8% +5.4% (‘parent’ airlines, AF BA LH, +7.4% +3.4% +5.3%).

23 December 2011
China’s outbound travel market is becoming even more valuable. We estimate that China outbound increased 21% through Q3, and Q3 at 29%. Official data – for the full year – is usually not available until March of the following year at the earliest.
* (Read a full report on this topic in the December issue of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter.)

22 December 2011
ETOA (European Tour Operators Association) has reinforced our Big Event Blues theory. ETOA members (who handle 2mn people annually in London) expect a downturn in 2012 in the UK, particularly closer to the July and August peak months for the Summer Olympic Games in London*. Downturn varies between 20% and 60%, but 95% during the Games.
* (Read a full report on this topic in the December issue of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter.)

21 December 2011
Our YTD through August calculation of international passenger throughput at ‘low-fare airports’ in Europe, in the current editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, derived from ACI data, shows: +3.9% (all airports +9.2%). Last month: +5.6% (+9.4%).

20 December 2011
Pegasus Solutions reports:
-Average room rates increased 4.0% in November, +3.2% YTD, +2.7% October.  
-For leisure-travel, worldwide hotel-bookings grew 6.0%, compared with 4.8% in October.
-For corporate-travel, worldwide hotel-bookings grew 5.4%, compared with 4.0% in October.

19 December 2011
Cathay Pacific (including Dragonair) in November: 2.27mn seat sales, up 4.2%, on an 8.6% increase in capacity (ASKs). YTD: +2.5% seat sales on +9.2% capacity.

end