Forward Bookings Show Peak Northern Summer
Holiday Season Up 35% on 2022
(17/05/23)
IATA has reported that forward booking data from
Q1 2023 for travel between May and September, the peak northern
summer travel holiday season, is tracking at 35% above 2022 levels.
The survey covering 4,700 travelers in 11
countries shows that 79% of travelers surveyed said that they were
planning a trip in the June-August 2023 period, and while 85% said that peak travel season
disruptions should not be a surprise, 80% said that they expected
smooth travel with post pandemic issues having been resolved.
Forward booking data indicates that greatest
growth is expected in: Asia Pacific (134.7%), Middle East
(42.9%), Europe (39.9%), Africa (36.4%), Latin
America (21.4%) and North America (14.1%).
“Expectations are high for this year’s peak
northern summer travel season,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior
Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security. “For many this
will be their first post-pandemic travel experience. While some
disruptions can be expected, there is a clear expectation that the
ramping-up issues faced at some key hub airports in 2022 will have
been resolved. To meet strong demand, airlines are planning
schedules based on the capacity that airports, border control,
ground handlers, and air navigation service providers have
declared. Over the next months, all industry players now need to
deliver.”
Collaboration, sufficient staffing and accurate
information sharing are all essential to minimize operational
disruptions and their impact on passengers. The key is ensuring
that the capacities which have been declared and scheduled are
available.
“A lot of work has gone into preparing for the
peak northern summer travel season. Success rests on readiness
across all players in the supply chain. If each player delivers on
what has been declared, there should be no last minute
requirements to reduce the scale of the schedules that travelers
have booked on,” said Careen.
Labor unrest, particularly in France, is cause for
concern, however. Eurocontrol data on the impact of French strikes earlier
this year shows that cancellations can spike by over a third.
“We need to keep a very careful eye on Europe
where strike actions have caused significant disruptions earlier
this year. Governments should have effective contingency plans in
place so that the actions of those providing essential services
like air traffic control maintain minimum service levels and do
not disrupt the hard-earned vacations of those traveling or put at
risk the livelihoods of those in the travel and tourism sectors,”
Careen added.
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