Business Travel Recovery Set to Overtake Leisure Market in July

ForwardKeys, an analyst of travel statistics, predicts that in July, business travel will surpass leisure travel as a global trend.

In addition to internet reservations, travel agents, and airlines are all included in the company's global tracking of flight ticketing data.

Olivier Ponti, insights vice-president at ForwardKeys, said: “Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, business travel flight bookings have been slower to recover than leisure, and currently still are.

“However, that situation now looks likely to change.

“We are seeing that the trend is set to reverse in July, with the recovery in business travel overtaking the recovery in leisure – as business flight bookings are 14% behind pre-pandemic (2019) levels and leisure are 16% behind.

“Furthermore, the gap will probably widen in the autumn, as business bookings for September are just 1% behind 2019, whereas leisure are 8% behind.

“It is conceivable the trend of leisure leading the recovery could continue if there is a late surge in summer holiday bookings; but the rise in inflation, including the price of hospitality and airline tickets, makes that unlikely.”