War, inflation and interest rate hikes impact tourism sector deal activity

October 13, 2023

Karen Sweaney

According to GlobalData - a leading data and analytics company - tourism sector deal activity declined by 33% compared to the same period in 2022.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData notes “Geo-political tensions, Russia-Ukraine war, inflation, recession fears, and interest rate hikes seem to have been taking a toll on deal-making sentiments in the travel and tourism sector. Resultantly, we have been seeing subdued activity being experienced across several key markets across regions.”

United Nations World Tourism Organisation reports the Russia-Ukraine war to deliver a possible loss of US$ 14 billion for the tourism economy

GlobalData report a total of 558 deals* were announced in the travel and tourism sector globally during the first three quarters of 2023, which was a decline of 33% compared to the announcement of 833 deals during the same period in 2022.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database also revealed all the deal types under coverage, and most of the key markets recorded a considerable year-on-year decline in the announcement of deals during Q1-Q3 2023 compared to Q1-Q3 2022.

For instance, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals volume for the travel and tourism sector declined by 34.6% during Q1-Q3 2023 compared to Q1-Q3 2022, while the total number of private equity deals and venture financing deals were down by 29.2% and 28.4%, respectively.

North America witnessed a decline in deals volume by 43.9% during Q1-Q3 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year, while Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America regions experienced a decline of 39.7%, 12.7%, 16.7%, and 25%, respectively.

Similarly, key markets such as the US, the UK, South Korea, France, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, and Canada recorded year-on-year decline in deals volume by 44.4%, 40%, 12.5%, 12.5%, 25.9%, 53.5%, 23.5%, and 35.3% during Q1-Q3 2023, respectively, compared to Q1-Q3 2022.

Meanwhile, China emerged as a notable exception and experienced growth in deals volume by 21.9% during Q1-Q3 2023 compared to Q1-Q3 2022, whereas deals volume for India remained at the same level.

GlobalData’s mission is to help their clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors.

*Comprising mergers & acquisitions, private equity, and venture financing deals

Image. Credit: Pexels/ engin akyurt

About the author

Karen Sweaney

Co-founder and Editor, Australasian Leisure Management

Artist, geoscientist and specialist writer on the leisure industry, Karen Sweaney is Editor and co-founder of Australasian Leisure Management.

Based in Sydney, Australia, her specific areas of interest include the arts, entertainment, the environment, fitness, tourism and wellness.

She has degrees in Fine Arts from the University of Sydney and Geological Oceanography from UNSW.

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