In a webinar event hosted by New York University, senior executives of Accor, Sebastien Bazin and Marriott, Arne Sorenson stated opposing outlooks regarding how demand recovery in Europe will play out.
Following this, Ralph Hollister, analyst, travel & tourism at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on the situation:
Sorenson thinks, US and China have the same kind of travel industry fundamentals to fuel a stronger recovery than Europe. Europe?s situation is more precarious, the region consists of a vast number of countries with different rules regarding quarantines and restrictions on travel. It will lead to further uncertainty for all tourism stakeholders, creating further economic damage.
Bazin does not agree. Europe is not as dependent on domestic tourism as the US and China. Accor?s 80% business is domestic in Europe, compared to domestic tourism in the US and China providing Marriott with 95% of its business. Accor?s core market is Europe and it is most successful in this region. Bazin may have a hidden agenda here, a prolonged recovery in Europe will have a more significant impact on Accor than it would Marriott.
Sorenson?s argument here does seem to be more substantial. The un-uniformed approach in Europe will be likely to hinder the industry?s recovery. In US, most of Marriott's recent occupancy growth was from drive-to markets, which is in line with expectations that domestic local travel will be the first type of tourism demand to return.
?However ?train-to? destinations may not work as Bazin states they could in Europe. He hinted that Europe?s extensive train network could help the industry recover at a quicker pace. But, the prospect of taking unnecessary public transport for many travellers may be off-putting if precautions like temperature checks and the enforcement of mask wearing is not mandatory everywhere.?
Image Credit: Pedro Szekely/ Flickr
