Net bookings reached 80% of June 2019 levels last month while net revenue hit 104% of 2019 levels, the group revealed in a half-year trading update covering the six-month period to 30 June 2022. It will issue its formal half-year results on 10 August.
The group said the encouraging outlook built on the strong recovery it reported in April and May, with demand for some top European markets now exceeding 2019 levels. Demand for Asian and Australasian destinations is also rebounding.
"We are seeing the recovery continue across all destinations and demand segments," said Hotelworld. "In particular, booking demand into Europe, our largest destination in 2019, remains strong with our top markets in southern Europe exceeding 2019 levels.
"We also see booking momentum slowly returning in Australasia and Asian destinations from a very low level in January, with booking demand in June at 43% of 2019 levels. Finally, long-haul bookings have reached 75% of 2019 levels in June, with trips from the US and Canada into European destinations above 2019 levels."
Late last year, G Adventures partnered with Hostelworld to launch nearly 40 new tours across 15 countries to introduce a new youth-focused travel style. This has developed into G’s "Roamies" programme, to which G has now assigned a reporter to introduce the concept to a wider audience.
Gary Morrison, Hostelworld group chief executive, said: "I am encouraged by the positive indicators across all of our key market segments, which demonstrate the ability of our business model to capture pent-up customer demand as the travel market returns.
"Despite macro-economic uncertainties and recent disruption to airline schedules, I am very confident we are well positioned to continue to capitalise on the travel recovery as we enter our key seasonal summer trading period."
