ΔΙΕΘΝΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΗΛΕΚΤΡΟΝΙΚΗ ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΔΑ ΠΟΙΚΙΛΗΣ ΥΛΗΣ - ΕΔΡΑ: ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ει βούλει καλώς ακούειν, μάθε καλώς λέγειν, μαθών δε καλώς λέγειν, πειρώ καλώς πράττειν, και ούτω καρπώση το καλώς ακούειν. (Επίκτητος)

(Αν θέλεις να σε επαινούν, μάθε πρώτα να λες καλά λόγια, και αφού μάθεις να λες καλά λόγια, να κάνεις καλές πράξεις, και τότε θα ακούς καλά λόγια για εσένα).

Τετάρτη 29 Απριλίου 2020

70% of tour operators reschedule trips to October 2020 and beyond



70% of tour operators reschedule trips to October 2020 and beyond


The results of an industry outlook survey tracking the impact of COVID-19 in the travel industry were released today. The survey of 592 tour operators was conducted in early April 2020. 42% of the respondents are US-based companies. 59% of the respondents specialize in multi-day tours, while 41% offer day tours.

Almost 90% of the respondents have less than 20 employees, representing small-to-medium-sized travel companies. About 75% have been in business for more than 5 years, showing that the crisis has hit established businesses and newer players alike.

Most tour operators have the confidence that travel will pick up again in the fall this year. Almost a third of respondents have rescheduled their trips to the period of June-September 2020. Almost 40% will postpone to October-December 2020. The rest plan to delay all their trips to 2021, while closely monitoring the situation.

Tour operators expect a major decline in revenue in 2020. More than half of the companies surveyed expect to see their 2020 revenue decline by at least 50% compared to that of 2019. 10% of companies even predict a >90% revenue decline this year. This number might grow higher as 21% of respondents are still not sure about the impact of COVID-19 on revenue this year.

Tour operators are caught between a rock and a hard place: travelers ask for refunds while operators’ money is tied with their vendors. Almost half of the respondents have managed to give full refunds to their travelers, while 27% are first waiting for refunds from their vendors. However, only 39% of vendors are willing to give full refunds to tour operators, while 11% are not willing to refund at all or even reschedule. Tour operators are trying to resolve the situation by offering travel credits or asking for a longer time horizon to complete refunds.

Most tour operators have a positive outlook for 2021. While 55% of respondents have a negative outlook for the second half of 2020, only 22% have the same outlook for 2021. Almost a third of the companies surveyed have a positive outlook for next year, 26% have a fair outlook, while 21% are still unsure. When asked how long it will take for the industry to recover, 44% believe that it will be 6-12 months.