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17 May, 2023

Business and leisure travel continually on the up, FCM Consulting data shows

Business people, travel and luggage at airport terminal to board flight for work seminar, trip or conference abroad. Corporate man and woman with suitcase boarding for international business workshop

FCM Consulting has revealed that business and leisure travel are nearing 2019 levels this year as the industry continues to gather momentum.

The latest global travel trends report undertaken by FCM highlights worldwide demand for travel will reach 85.5 per cent of pre-pandemic (2019) numbers this year with corporate travel remaining strong despite challenging economic conditions.

Domestic booking trends for Q1-2023 versus Q1-2022 saw a 27 per cent rise in online adoption, the advance booking days extended from 17 to 19, and average days away held firm at 2.9. The report also showed that in-person meetings was the leading reason for corporate travel.

“After 2022, a year full of significant imbalance of both supply and demand, air travel will stabilise this year, seeing added capacity in H1-2023 and airfares moderating in H2-2023 Q1-2023,” GM, FCM Consulting, Felicity Burke, said.

The seat capacity was up 2.1 per cent on Q4-2022 and down 6.8 per cent on Q1-2019.”

“Early forecasts show air capacity offered in 2023 will be just 2.5 per cent short of 2019 volumes. The region with the highest seat growth in Q1-2023 vs Q4-2022 was Asia with a 12.2 per cent increase, with most other regions averaging two per cent growth.

“The exception to this was Europe which saw an 8.7 per cent decline as the region balanced changes in demand – but the Northern Hemisphere summer will drive demand in Q2 and Q3-2023.

“For 2023, the LATAM Airlines Group at +4 per cent and United Airlines at +2 per cent are predicted to surpass 2019 seats offered. The forecast across the 20 major airlines reports a 94 per cent return of seats in 2023 vs 2019.

“Interestingly, when you look at some of the city pairings, business class airfares have dropped – and some quite significantly. The perfect example of this is Auckland to Sydney, which has decreased by 24 per cent in January and February 2023 when compared to the same months in 2019.

“That’s where having a travel expert on your side is so critical in finding the best prices for customers – no matter the destination.”

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business travel FCM Consulting Felicity Burke leisure travel