Articles tagged “skift research”

A lot of positive vibes came from the travel industry during March. Many countries performed strongly in our Skift Recovery Index, with U.S. key indicators, in particular, up across the board.

After the ugliest year in travel history, 4Q 2020 earnings and other more recent data points suggest that the industry has turned a corner and is beginning to recover.

Who traveled during the pandemic year? How did they book travel? Where did they stay? How did they get to their destinations? We answer these questions about U.S. travelers by analyzing our aggregated monthly travel tracker survey of over 10,000 Americans.

Hotels need to reduce their carbon emissions by 66 percent by 2030, and 90 percent by 2050 to comply with the Paris Agreement on climate change. While there is a lot of talk, not all companies are walking the walk. We have identified those that are talking, and those that are walking.

Carbon reduction is gaining importance for stakeholders, and reporting is getting better amongst the largest hotel companies. Skift Research compares the emissions of six global chains to determine which is best positioned to become carbon neutral over the coming decades, and which are falling behind.

Upward we go. The Skift Recovery index registered a 4 point increase in February, no mean feat compared to the almost complete absence of movement over the past six months. Declining case counts and relaxing lockdown restrictions are to thank.

After a difficult year, 2021 is likely to be a year of travel startup exits and consolidation fueled by IPOs, M&A, and — new on the scene — SPACs. These deals could help drive renewed enthusiasm for investing in and founding companies within the travel.

The pandemic derailed record years of venture capital activity in travel, resetting the industry to 2014 levels of investment. But our assessment shows signs for optimism about the future of the travel industry and its ability to innovate technology and incubate globally relevant startups.

U.S. travel rate dipped to 21 percent in January, marking the second worst month since the pandemic started. But Americans are hopeful for a better 2021 ahead and travel companies need to be prepared.

The world has become obsessed with vaccination drives, testing, and health passports. How best to reopen destinations to domestic and international visitors in coming months will be much discussed. The efficacy around all of those approaches will certainly play a central role in governments’ decision-making.