Mergers, acquisitions, private equity investment and venture financing deals in the global travel and tourism sector fell by nearly 7% from 74 in June to 69 in July.

GlobalData lead analyst Aurojyoti Bose said curbs on many freedoms, such as travel, were continuing to contribute to a mixed outlook for M&A activity.

"Deal activity in the travel and tourism sector still remains inconsistent," said Bose. "While June showed some signs of recovery following a decline during the past few months, the rebound in deal activity could not be sustained for long with July again reversing the trend.

"This could be attributed to prevailing travel restrictions and unfavourable market conditions for the sector in some countries.”

During July, private equity investments declined by 58.3% and M&A activity by 4.7% compared with June, although there was a 21.1% uptick in venture financing deals.

Deal activity in markets such as the US, the UK and China remained broadly level, said GlobalData, and increased in India and Australia. Germany, Spain and the Netherlands all experienced declines in deal activity in July compared with June.

Writing for TTG earlier this month, RSM restructuring partner Damian Webb said he expected the Covid crisis to compound consolidation in the travel sector, with more firms likely to team up under umbrella structures to ensure safety in numbers.