

Ascenda, a technology company that includes TransferConnect, the world’s largest frequent traveler miles, and points exchange, has found that people are exchanging their points for travel more than they were prior to the pandemic, and that could set the industry towards its recovery faster than expected.
During the pandemic, rewards transfers dropped more than 80 percent during a 60-day period following March 2020, when the pandemic was officially declared and global travel was highly restricted or completely banned.
By the new year, however, vaccination rates, easing restrictions, and pent-up demand have led to a rise in rewards transfers. This rise is prominent in the U.S., where the transfers into frequent flyer miles have surpassed pre-pandemic levels since April 2021.
Hotel rewards points have also grown. While hotel points transfers made up less than 10 percent of transfers in 2019, it has grown to make up 30 percent of all transfers and continues its growth.
How does this new data inform what we know about the current state of the travel industry? It means that more individuals with loyalty programs are willing and eager to travel, especially by plane and that hotel stays are on the rise. Confidence in both the method of travel and accommodation type has grown, too.
The Independence Day weekend saw just 21 percent fewer people flying by air than 2019’s pre-pandemic levels, but that doesn’t mean that the same number of people weren’t traveling; the pandemic has awakened the nation’s love for road-tripping, and it’s easy to imagine that more people decided to take their cars on a long road trip if they’re not yet comfortable taking public transportation, like flying.
“As the pandemic unfolded, the world’s eyes were glued to plummeting operating statistics published by airlines and travel industry bodies across the world,” said Sebastian Grobys, Chief Commercial Officer at Ascenda. “Since then, there have been many attempts to analyze the slope of the recovery curve and make predictions about the future, for example looking at forwarding booking patterns. Today we’re excited to contribute a new and unique source of data that shows frequent flier mile transfers are rising significantly in a strong signal of accelerating recovery.”
While this new data doesn’t cover the entire scope of the travel industry, it does suggest that large travel corporations, like the biggest airlines and hotel chains with functioning loyalty programs, will be the first to recover from the pandemic’s impact.
Source: Travel Pulse
Comments
more recommended stories
After Black Thursday, hundreds of troops are sent to Ciudad Juarez
Hundreds of Mexican military troops were.
Mérida’s “Botica de Mezcales” is allegedly violating the law
The newly opened “Curatodo” mezcal apothecary.
Key interest rate in Mexico climbs to 8.5%, the highest in 16 years
Mexico’s central bank raised its interbank.
-
Red tide located in front of the Yucatan coast
The red tide is found between.
One dead after stage collapses at Spain Medusa Electronic Music Festival
One person was killed and at.
Amber alert activated for 14-year-old Ángel Francisco Pérez reported missing in Merida
On Friday, August 12th, the Amber.
Writer Salman Rushdie in serious condition after attack in NYC
Writer Salman Rushdie, who for years.
Donald Trump under investigation for espionage
Top secret classified information was among.
FBI recovered 11 sets of classified documents in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion
The FBI recovered 11 sets of.
Isla Mujeres is expecting 30 thousand daiy visitors
Isla Mujeres, Q.R. — Hotels in.
Leave a Comment