Boeing Chairman David Calhoun said while attending the Doha Economic Forum: “The desire to travel is greater than ever, and the industry is now struggling to meet that demand.”
According to Sébastien Bazin, Chairman of AccorHotels Group, the largest hotel group in Europe, travel for tourism and leisure purposes has become the main reason for boarding a plane or booking a hotel room, and pointed out that the 5,400 hotels in its group have recently witnessed a “total transformation” in travel habits.
The summer travel season is expected to bring air traffic back to pre-pandemic levels in December 2019.
Aviation leaders agreed that big-spending Chinese tourists will play a major role in the continued recovery.
The hotel group Accor has predicted that “millions” of Chinese could boost the resources of the travel sector in the coming months.
For his part, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker said all of his company’s planes leaving China are “completely full”.
He added: “Not only are they paying what we demand due to the lack of capacity they have, but also the amount of money they spend in the Doha airport duty free market is more than any amount. other nationalities”.
In turn, billionaire William Elwood Heineke, owner of the hotel group “Minor”, said that in the first quarter of 2023 the number of Chinese tourists in Thailand was 85% lower than in 2019, but he expected until the return movement is completed. in the second half of 2023.
Back in the aviation business, Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes, whose group includes AirAsia, hopes all 250 planes in his fleet will be grounded again during COVID-19 in August.
“We are in a strange situation, because we were struggling to survive, and now we are restarting 200 planes, which is a huge task,” he explained.
Earlier this month, Emirates Airlines posted record profits for the past fiscal year of $3 billion, announcing a “full recovery” from the consequences of the outbreak.
Price increase
In another context, hotel owners and airlines have defended the high prices they currently charge.
“We have had two very difficult years,” the AccorHotels group boss said, noting that prices for luxury rooms are 33-35% higher than in 2019, while standard rooms are 10-12% higher. higher.
He said the hospitality sector needed to recoup billions in revenue, but now it has become difficult to find and retain employees.
For his part, the boss of AirAsia insists that passengers now pay a “reasonable price” for plane tickets, given the high demand compared to supply.
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