Survey Shows Most Tour Operators Are Upbeat About Travel in 2021

The travel booking and payment platform WeTravel conducted a survey of tour operators and found that many are upbeat that a recovery will begin in the fall of this year, but some have postponed all trips to 2021.

The research found that one-third of trips were rescheduled for sometime between June and September due to the coronavirus outbreak. Forty percent said that they are putting tours off until the last quarter of this year.

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The remainder of tour operators said that they are postponing all trips until 2021 and keeping a close watch on the ongoing market conditions.

There was optimism for the coming year. The survey found that one-third of tour operators are positive about 2021, 26 percent have a fair outlook and 21 percent remain unsure.

Forty-four percent say that they see a recovery in the industry in six to 12 months.

Most, however, are expecting a significant decline in revenue this year, with more than half reporting a drop of at least 50 percent year-over-year. Twenty-one percent of tour operators say that they are not sure how much revenue will decline in 2021, but 10 percent say that it could be down as much as 90 percent.

Refunds have been coming although many tour operators have funds tied up with vendors. Approximately half of tour operators said that they had fully refunded travelers, and 27 percent are waiting for money from vendors.

WeTravel found that only 39 percent of vendors are providing full refunds to tour operators, and 11 percent of vendors said they are not willing to refund or reschedule.