CWT FORECASTS INCREASE IN TRAVEL PRICING

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) has released its 2014 Travel Price Forecast, which shows worldwide travel prices will increase moderately next year, in line with limited economic growth expected across the globe. In Canada, airfares may only rise as much as 0.6% during 2014, while hotel and ground transportation rates climb as high as 3.4% and 2%, respectively. While airfares continue to rise, the increase is much lower than it has been over the past couple of years, driven by a highly consolidated and fiercely competitive landscape. Christophe Renard, vice-president, CWT Solutions Group, commented, “While we expect moderate price increases worldwide next year, there are some notable exceptions. Prices in Europe are likely to decrease because of the continued economic uncertainty in the region, while emerging markets such as Argentina could experience far higher increases in 2014 due to high projected GDP growth and significant inflationary increases.”Air projections for 2014: The airline landscape remains dynamic in 2014, as carriers continue to align, whether through codeshare agreements, alliances or mergers. At the same time, more low-cost carriers are entering the global stage, applying pressure on legacy carriers’ pricing and offering new products and services geared towards the business traveller. Hotel projections for 2014: Hotels in key business destinations will operate at near capacity throughout 2014. Some destinations will see their highest rate increases in decades, while much of Europe will see a decline due to the ongoing economic uncertainty. Ground projections for 2014: Small price increases look likely for ground transport throughout 2014, and car rental and rail remain viable alternatives to certain types of air travel. Some markets are seeing increases in car rental prices for the first time in years, and this trend could continue in the near future. Meetings & Events projections for 2014: CWT anticipates Meetings & Events providers will raise prices around the world next year, resulting in across-the-board increases in daily attendee costs. This could prompt, in many cases, meeting planners to maintain or even cut group size compared to 2013. (http://www.carlsonwagonlit.com)