Buckle up, prepare for lift off!
The international tourism industry was one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis. In 2020, air traffic dropped by 60%, recording its worst year in history, with activity levels comparable to 2003! Last year, travel slowly resumed, still at the mercy of sanitary turbulences and border restrictions. After a difficult start, 2022 should finally give the sector a much-anticipated breath of fresh air.
Return to pre-pandemic altitudes in 2024
Source: Statistics and forecasts from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), data updated on March 1, 2022
I need a vacation, stat.!
As soon as the easing of certain restrictions was announced in February, travel agencies all over the province saw demand for travel explode. Air Canada, for its part, announced the reopening of 34 international destinations by summer.
Source: Radio-Canada, Les agences de voyages débordées par des réservations à la dernière minute, March 2022
Vacations 2022: beach destinations for the win!
Source: Vividata, Winter 2022, Québec fr., 14+
Movement in the industry
Bankruptcies, reorganizations, layoffs . . . the pandemic affected travel industry specialists worldwide. In Canada, government subsidies often helped prevent the worst, but the sector is not immune to drastic changes.
The air transport sector is evolving
Source: Les Ailes du Québec, L’entente entre Air Transat et WestJet inchangée, March 2022
The lodging industry: not all on equal footing
Innovating to stay in the game
The pandemic crisis may be behind us, but the travel industry is still facing structural challenges. The generalized labour shortage is having an impact on customer experience. To compensate, tourism companies are investing in automating low value-added tasks. For instance, Quebec’s own Happy Hotels offers augmented reality and virtual training sessions for hospitality employees.
CSR shift: a must
Source: ESG UQÀM Transat Chair in Tourism and Tourism Intelligence Network, Perspectives touristiques 2022
