by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 2:30 PM ET, Fri August 18, 2023
In news that may not be entirely surprising amid the travel frenzy of the past year and a half, newly released data covering annual airline traffic and travel industry revenue shows that the industry experienced significant post-pandemic recovery in 2022.
Perhaps the most notable achievement of last year, the combined revenue from airlines, hotels, car rentals and OTAs reached $1.28 trillion, according to the just-released Allianz Partners Big Book of Travel Data by IdeaWorksCompany.
"By every measure, ours is a travel industry in rapid recovery from the ravages of the pandemic. The data shows that airlines, hotels and other travel providers last year leapt from the pandemic plunge of 2020," says the report.
Some of the stand-out industry leaders last year included Booking Holdings, which operates Agoda, Booking.com, Kayak, Priceline, and RentalCars.com websites. The company reported $121.3 billion in revenue. Marriott International was also a leader last year with estimated room revenues of $61.4 billion.
In the car rental space, Enterprise Holdings, which operates Alamo, Enterprise, and National brands, reported $30 billion in company revenue.
Here’s a closer look at some of the report's additional key data:
- US and Canada had the lowest level of airline traffic growth at 35.4 percent compared to 2021; on top was Europe at 107.8 percent.
- Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliances generated estimated revenue of $413.3 billion, which represented 59.6 percent of global airline revenue.
- Ryanair Group is the largest low cost carrier with more than 168.6 million passengers, which represents a dramatic 73.6 percent increase above 2021 results.
- Low cost carriers handled 31.2 percent of global traffic, but their low fares only generated 16.2 percent of global revenue.
- H Rewards offered by Huazhu Group Limited of China is the largest frequent guest program with 199 million members.
- American Airlines was the largest employer among the 91 airlines that disclose total employment. The carrier ended 2022 with 129,700 employees.
- RevPAR for the nine hotel groups1 appearing in this year’s Big Book was $80.06 for 2022, which is a 50 percent increase above the 2021 result of $53.29.
- Airbnb had gross booking value of $63.2 billion for 2022, which represents the customer transactions conducted on its website. If this were compared to estimated room revenue, Airbnb would rank higher than Marriott International, which holds the top position at $61.4 billion. Airbnb had 6.6 million active listings at the end of 2022.
Hotel Industry Rankings
The report also reveals that Hampton by Hilton is the world’s largest individual brand at nearly $10.2 billion estimated room revenue for 2022.
In the number two place is Hilton Hotels & Resorts with $9.3 billion in estimated room revenue last year. Marriott Hotels landed in third place with $8.8 billion in revenue, followed by Holiday Inn Express, which is owned by IHG Hotels & Resorts. The brand reported $8.5 billion in revenue.
Rounding out the top five is Courtyard by Marriott with $7.1 billion in estimated room revenue last year.
Five Largest Hotel Brands By Annual Gross Room Revenue for 2022 (Photo Credit: Courtesy Allianz)
The Big Book uses a number of sources and methods to arrive at its results for each company. Most often this consists of financial documents at company websites, while for others the sources include press releases, and industry articles.
(Photo Credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus/baona)
Airline Traffic and Revenue
The report also includes extensive data regarding airline industry performance for 2022. In particular, the report reveals that globally, airline revenue last year was about $693 billion, which is a 50 percent increase over one year earlier when the figure was $462 billion.
Last year also represents a significant uptick from 2020, when revenues globally were around $350 billion. However, the industry still has not reached its 2019, pre-pandemic levels of revenue, which were $840 billion, according to the report.
Global Estimates of Airline Traffic and Revenue 2022. (Photo Credit: Courtesy Allianz)
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter here.
Topics From This Article to Explore
