Introduction

Skift CEO Rafat Ali explains the underappreciated storylines from the last year that will continue to define the travel industry in 2022.

1. The United States, Latin America, and Dubai will remain open by prioritizing keeping their economies open over everything else.
2. Outdoor is now a permanent and premium part of the leisure and business travel industries. 
3. Basing a strategy based on Chinese travelers even post pandemic is foolhardy, as a China turns inwards and isolationist.
4. Tour operators remain the most devastated sector in travel and will remain so in 2022. As an asset class for investors this sector will remain troubled, unless most pivot to independent, customized tours versus group fixed-date tours.
5. Booking windows may have permanently shortened and financial products that introduce flexibility will help players stand out. Exciting as a sector and lot more innovation and investment to come.
6. Labor turmoil will continue in 2022, with higher wages all across the board and turnover of top ranks to continue. This will be a lot more than just transitory over next couple of years.

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