Gradual upturn discernible in the tourism industry worldwide

Analysis of anonymized and aggregated consumer activity across the Mastercard network of G20 countries shows that tourism is recovering fastest in Italy, Russia and France. Australia follows in fourth place and Germany is in fifth place. Travel segments such as airlines and accommodations were evaluated, as well as leisure activities such as restaurant visits. Although Italy was a focal point of the pandemic earlier this year, its strong restaurant culture and extensive domestic tourism industry have helped it recover faster than other markets, such as the U.S., Brazil and India.

The global economy is showing the first signs of recovery and emerging trends, which are also reflected in the development of consumer spending. In this context, the shift to a smaller radius of action is particularly striking, as people are currently traveling more within their own country and also consuming there. However, there are other important findings.

The own region is preferred

Consumers are opting for local transportation when traveling. While car rentals accounted for 9 percent of total transportation spending in 2019, the share rose to 17 percent in the second quarter of this year, nearly doubling. In Germany and Switzerland, non-air travel accounted for about three-quarters of travel spending in the first week of August. This trend - to travel within one's own region - has also driven the development of micromobility rentals, such as scooters and bicycles. Increased spending on gasoline also suggests that people are once again leaving home more often to spend and consume outside.

Smaller hotels are on the rise

Travelers are increasingly opting for smaller boutique hotels. As a result, the global economic recovery rate of small individual hotels has recently exceeded that of large hotels by more than 50 percent.

Private travel is largely responsible for the upswing

An analysis of spending on personal cards versus business cards shows that spending on personal air travel and car rentals is higher than that of business travel, returning to normal much more quickly.

"There is no doubt that people like to travel. However, we see that the way they travel has adapted to the current situation. Spending on gasoline, going to restaurants or renting bicycles is on the rise again. This shows that while the economic recovery is happening, it is focused on domestic travel and local travel spending," says Steve Sadove, senior advisor at Mastercard and former CEO of Saks.