“Good News In Luxury Travel Segment”
Phoenix, AZ – August 31, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Despite the current economic malaise in the job sector of the US economy, recent travel news indicates a concurrent reality of optimism
Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) said it has seen sustained positive growth for the first half of 2011, its 20th anniversary year. Indicators of this upward trend include a 32 percent increase in revenue to date, compared to the same period last year, a 13.5 percent increase in reservations and the addition of 15 new hotels to its portfolio from January to June 2011.
“The past six months have been a busy time for SLH as we celebrate 20 years in the business and strive to build on our success for the future,” said Paul Kerr, chief executive officer of SLH.
The GBTA Foundation, the research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), released the Global Business Travel Spending Outlook 2011-2015, a study sponsored by Visa that shows business travel spend around the world increased 8.4 percent in 2010, after falling 7.8 percent in 2009. Moreover, global spending on business travel is projected to grow another 9.2 percent in 2011 to just over $1 trillion.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel said that its sales volume for the first half of 2011 was $13.4 billion, representing a 10 percent increase compared to the same period in 2010 (on a constant currency basis). Transactions rose 5 percent to 30.8 million in the first six months of 2011. Performance was strongest in Asia Pacific, where sales volume versus the first half of 2010 increased by 18 percent, followed by Latin America (12 percent), North America (11 percent) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (9 percent).
The Travel Experts recently noted market changes in the last year:
• Business is up, more high-end, less mid-to-lower end
• Booking window has lengthened, people feel more confident in spending.
Clients are finally beginning to book further in advance again, rather than waiting until the last moment.
Contact:
Maureen Herron
MH-Global Communications Network
