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."