Travel Prices To Rise Nearly 4% By 2018
Travel prices could rise as much as 4% in the next 12 months, as a strong economy helps demand catch up with supply.
According to the fourth annual Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Foundation's 2018 Global Travel Forecast, global airfares are expected to rise 3.5% in 2018. Hotel prices are expected to increase 3.7%.
North America will see airline prices rise by 2.3%, GBTA said. "With the region's air travel market nearly flat year-over-year in early 2017, competition is fierce between carriers who now compete on branded fares rather than on bundled fares or by carrier type," the organization said in its report.
"North American hoteliers may be banking on economic growth as demand has leveled off since mid-summer 2016, but supply is expected to continue growing steadily through 2018. U.S. hotel growth is expected to be concentrated primarily along the West Coast and in Washington D.C. In Canada, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are expected to maintain good pricing power amid a weak Canadian dollar."
