Speaking during a tour operator panel at the conference in Braga on Friday (25 November), Sunvil managing director Chris Wright said airfares to Latin America had risen from £300-£400 to the £1,000 region. “That jump has been huge, and that’s if you can get the availability,” he said.
Ashley Toft, chief executive of KE Adventure Travel, said airfares to Nepal had more than doubled from £700 to £1,500-£1,600. “I’m not sure that capacity increases will reign that in and I’m nervous that will continue into the new year," he said.
However, a separate supply-side issue – hotel capacity – appears to be easing, with the panellists reflecting on how hoteliers had to turn to OTAs and platforms like Booking.com during the pandemic to fill beds.
Wright explained hoteliers were now reverting to tour operator partnerships after a period of being more reliant on online booking sites. “It’s been an interesting year of rebalancing, and it’ll be another year before it settles down properly," he said.
"But we are seeing accommodation providers coming back to us because they realise it’s easier to deal with customers through a tour operator than dealing [with them] direct, even though direct might give them more money.”
A destinations panel also discussed how the absence of tourists had led communities in regions like sub-Saharan Africa to realise the true value of tourism.
Chris McIntyre, managing director of Expert Africa, told delegates: “We were worried a lack of tourism would lead to an upsurge in poaching, but local communities all realised how important tourism was for local economies – the vegetable sellers, the cafes catering for guides – they all saw a drop in income, and so embraced tourism readily when it came back.”
