Booking CEO expects travel demand to remain robust despite high prices
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Booking Holdings Chief Executive Glenn Fogel said that the strong demand from recent months isn’t likely to let up. Consumers keep spending on travel, shrugging off higher prices for everything from hotel rooms to dinners out to indulge on vacations, according to Booking Holdings Chief Executive Glenn Fogel.
The head of the travel-booking company said that the strong demand from recent months isn’t likely to let up. “We had a period of high inflation very recently, yet people continued to travel an awful lot," he said Friday. “Now perhaps, people are getting used to that price level, and it’s no longer a sticker shock." The outlook comes despite signs of waning consumer confidence in the U.S.
at the start of President Trump’s second term and expectations that inflation will rise again. It additionally comes after other travel companies including Expedia and Airbnb also posted better-than-expected results in their latest quarter, reinforcing that travel demand remains strong. One factor helping stretch travel budgets is a stronger dollar.
Fogel said that U.S. travelers are showing strong demand for international trips, with data showing several cities throughout Europe and Japan as popular vacation spots. Foreign travelers, though, are less likely to visit the U.S.
currently, due to the exchange rates, he said. U.S. domestic travel to “the usual suspects"–cities including New York, Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla.–also continues to be strong, he added.
Looking ahead, the Booking.com and Kayak parent expects international travel demand in the U.S. to remain strong in 2025, with search data predicting an increase in visits to cities including Tromso, Norway, and Tignes, France. Travelers,
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