Are travelers gaining confidence to travel more frequently and farther? Where are the most popular destinations right now? Are we returning to pre-pandemic industry travel levels? What matters to travelers today when they are planning their next trip? These are the questions asked by The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), when it launched its inaugural “Luxe Report.”
What did LHW find?
“For the first time since the pandemic started, Leading Hotels’ revenue production has been on par with 2019. Beginning in mid-June we have outpaced 2019 production levels by an average of nearly 10 percent,” said president and CEO Shannon Knapp, in the report. “Even more encouraging is that on-the-books travel for the remainder of 2021 is up more than 200 percent from 2020 and increasing very day. Not surprisingly, the majority of travel until June was regional; however, as travel restrictions eased it was encouraging to see a lift in international demand. Though we are by no means out of this crisis, I do believe we have rounded a corner. I am optimistic that this positive momentum will help establish a strong foundation for healthy recovery in 2022.”
In addition, anticipated long-haul travel from July to December 2021 is up 66 percent over the same period in 2020. LHW travelers booking non-refundable travel in July 2021 were up 24 percent over the same period last year.
Three trends that LHW identified were:
- Luxury Is Local (2.0): Local travelers have awakened to, and are exploring, the beauty of their own countries and regions. LHW travelers booking within their own region has increased 64 percent since 2019.
- Leisure Rooms: Since March 2020, almost 100 percent of LHW bookings have been for leisure travel. Quick weekend leisure trips are being taken nearly two-times more in 2021 than 2019.
- Fresh Air and Privacy Matter: Since 2019, LHW has seen a two-times spike in demand for beach, countryside, lakeside and mountain destinations. Additionally, there has been an 88 percent increase in villa and suite bookings.
The five most popular destinations are Italy, the United States, Greece, Spain and France.
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