It’s easy to be bullish on travel and tourism stocks. In the wake of the pandemic, travel and tourism has emerged as a top growth industry. Who couldn’t use a vacation right now?
U.S. travel spending dropped by 42% in 2020. But by early 2024, U.S. domestic travel spending was above pre-pandemic levels, and business travel has been growing, even with video conferencing tools having made remote meetings more advantageous in many circumstances. U.S. travel spending has historically grown between 2% and 4% annually, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
International travel is a different story. Spending fell by 76% in 2020 and is only just getting back to 2019 levels in 2024, according to the World tourism Organization. Still, it’s safe to say there’s significant pent-up demand to travel again, and eventually overseas tourism will make a bigger comeback.
Travel and tourism is a broad category with a diverse list of well-known brands. For…