Airlines and chain hotels have reported in recent weeks that international travel bookings have surged, with prices also on the rise. This is good news for companies with global operations, but presents a new challenge for airlines, theme parks, and hotels focusing on domestic travel within the United States, as more tourists are opting for international travel over domestic vacations.
The shift in consumer travel preferences has dragged airline stocks down from recent highs, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index dropping about 12% this quarter, while the S&P 500 Index has risen about 1.5% in the same period.
Data from the ticket tracking company Hopper shows that the average price of international airfares is $962, up 10% and 26% from last year and 2019, respectively. However, domestic airfare prices are declining, with the average price for a round-trip flight within the United States at $249, down 11% and 12% from last year and 2019, respectively.
The hotel industry is also feeling the shift in consumer travel trends. According to data from hotel industry analyst CoStar, the average room rate for European hotels in the first half of the year was $148.88, nearly a 14% increase from the same period last year, while U.S. hotel room rates only rose by 6%. For example, the nightly rate for luxury hotels in Paris increased by over 22% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, while luxury hotels in Orlando, Florida, only saw a 0.2% increase.
Marriott International said on Tuesday that revenue per available room in the United States and Canada increased by 6% year-over-year in the second quarter, while international markets saw growth of more than 39%. The nightly rates for luxury hotels in the U.S. and Canada, such as JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, and Edition, declined by 1% compared to last year.
Marriott's Chief Financial Officer, Kathleen Oberg, said that looking at this year's travel patterns, a significant number of Americans are traveling to Europe and other parts of the world. This trend started over a year ago, and now more and more American consumers are choosing to spend their travel budgets on international rather than domestic travel.
Jesse Inman is one of the travelers choosing to travel abroad. The 29-year-old quit his job in software sales earlier this year to build a farm with his father in North Carolina and is currently on a weeks-long trip to Israel, the UK, Austria, and France. Inman said the cost for two flights between the U.S. and Europe was $1839, which he estimates to be a third less than the expenses before the pandemic.
Last week, Comcast stated that theme park revenue increased 22% year-over-year in the most recent quarter, although revenue for Universal Parks in Orlando slowed. Despite great improvements in both attendance and attendee rates compared to before the pandemic, recent data indicates that this momentum is starting to weaken.
The increase in international travel is good news for international airlines but bad news for U.S. airlines that primarily operate domestic flights. JetBlue Airways said that due to the surge in international long-haul travel and the decline in domestic travel, the company has lowered its performance forecast for the current quarter and the full year. JetBlue's service network is primarily focused on the U.S. market, the Caribbean, and parts of Latin America.
JetBlue's CEO, Robin Hayes, stated in a teleconference earlier this week that although travel demand suppressed by the COVID-19 pandemic has recovered beyond expectations, the strong demand for long-haul international travel this summer has noticeably suppressed demand for short-haul travel.
Barry Biffle, CEO of the budget airline Frontier, said that the surge in international long-haul travel will reduce the company's profit margin by 3%, and he expects Frontier's average ticket revenue per passenger in the second quarter to decline by 26% year-over-year. Andrew Harrison, Alaska Airlines' Chief Commercial Officer, stated in a teleconference last week that suppressed international demand has had a greater impact than ever before, with consumers' travel destinations shifting from domestic to international this year.
Meanwhile, airlines such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines expect international revenue growth to far exceed domestic, as they have been expanding their international services to capitalize on the strong demand for overseas travel. United's Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Nocella, said in a teleconference last month that thanks to the change in consumer travel destinations, their international transport system has performed exceptionally well.
