According to Phocuswright‘s latest travel research report the first half of 2019 was a rough patch for OTAs on a global level due to currency instability, the U.S.-China trade war, Brexit and Hong Kong protests.
Report states that across all regions, public online travel agency (OTA) gross bookings growth rates slowed during thie first half of 2019. Collective gross bookings of publicly reported online companies rose just 11%, compared to 21% in the first half of 2018.
Despite of these socio economic situations, the U.K. will continue to play a leading role in the European travel market. The inbound and outbound travel volume remain high, despite falling below the record highs of 2017. Inbound travel level is projected to grow 3% in 2019; outbound travel was roughly flat in the first half of 2019, but travel expenditures increased slightly.
The total U.K. travel market is projected to grow 1.7% in 2019, bringing travel gross bookings to £50.8 billion. Bookings are expected to grow to at a similar rate annually through 2023.
Author: Manoj .S
Manoj works as Team Lead in Teknokraaft and looks into the Flights vertical primarily.