Market commentary by eToro analyst for Romania, Bogdan Maioreanu International tourism is expected to fully recover pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with initial estimates pointing to 2% growth above 2019 levels. But this forecast remains subject to the pace of recovery in Asia and to the evolution of existing economic and geopolitical downside risks according to the Tourism Barometer by United Nations Tourism (UNWTO). While for tourists it might mean higher prices and that they will see crowded airlines and packed popular destinations and beaches, for investors this is excellent news. We created two equal-weight 15-stock BEACH baskets to see how these performed in the past 12 months compared with the global stocks. BEACH is an acronym of Booking sites (like Booking, Expedia, Airbnb), Entertainment (Disney, Live Nation Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands), Airlines (Delta Airlines, Ryanair, American Airlines), Cruise Lines (Carnival Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line), and Hotels (Marriott, Hilton, Intercontinental) stocks. One basket was for US-focused global players, the ones described above and another for more European focused stocks (from Amadeus IT to Accor). The exact composition is in the graph below. Both have outperformed global equities this year (+25%), the global BEACH basket gaining almost 56% and the European one 50%, even outpacing the high-flying NASDAQ-100 that rose almost 39% in the past 12 months. The success of the BEACH stocks is related to the continuous recovery of tourism following the end of the pandemic. 2023 was a strong recovery year, International tourism receipts reached USD 1.4 trillion according to preliminary estimates, about 93% of the USD 1.5 trillion earned by destinations in 2019. The trend of revenge vacationing after the claustrophobic lockdown marked 2020 and travel restricted 2021 is fading but continues to be active, according to a Deloitte study. In 2021, nearly half of summer travelers said the need for an “escape after lockdowns” motivated them to take trips. But the revenge effect has declined steadily, and by the 2023 holiday season, just 11% said they were making up for missed trips. Most likely this decreasing trend will continue in 2024 but the Tourism professionals forecast a good year according to the latest UNWTO Tourism Confidence Index survey. 67% of tourism professionals indicated better or much better prospects for 2024 compared to 2023 with some 28% expecting similar performance. Europe is expected to drive results again in 2024 with Paris hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics, shows the UNWTO barometer. Romania and Bulgaria joining the Schengen area of free movement with their airports and ports can boost the number of tourists arriving in our country. For Romanian individual investors the good growth prospects of the sector are important as 36% of them declared that they are owning stocks in the Consumer Discretionary where tourism related companies are located, according to the latest eToro Retail Investor Beat survey. Also 5% of the investors are preparing to allocate more money to the sector during this year. *** Bogdan Maioreanu, eToro analyst and markets commentator, has over 20 years of experience in financial services and investments and a strong background in journalism. He held different Corporate Banking management positions in both Raiffeisen Bank and OTP Bank, before moving to business consultancy roles working for IBM Romania among others. Bogdan is an Executive MBA from Asebuss and Washington University. About eToro eToro is a trading and investment platform that empowers people to grow their knowledge and wealth as part of a global community of investors. eToro was founded in 2007 with the vision of opening up the global markets so that everyone can trade and invest in a simple and transparent way. Today, eToro is a global community of more than 35 million registered users who share their investment strategies; and anyone can follow the approaches of those who have been the most successful. Due to the simplicity of the platform users can easily buy, hold and sell assets, monitor their portfolio in real time, and transact whenever they want.
The SIGNAL IDUNA companies concluded 2024 with a total gross written premium volume of approximately RON 424 million, marking an aggregated growth of 16% compared to the previous year. These financial results reflect the consolidation of a sustainable development strategy, supported by portfolio expansion, digitalization, the launch of new solutions for both individual and corporate […]
Kantar Romania launched, during an event dedicated to their clients, "The Trust Factor – Building Brands That Endure Uncertainty", the top 20 brands that manage to inspire the greatest confidence among the Romanian consumers, based on the analysis of 162 brands from 12 sectors*. In a period marked by uncertainty and skepticism, trust becomes the […]
Balancing career success with personal growth is a challenge many professionals face today. As the pressure to achieve and perform increases, many begin to crave more than just success: they want clarity, alignment, and a deeper sense of purpose. For Lin Holmquist, business coach and one of Europe’s most acclaimed experts in Tantra, Yoga, and […]
CFR Călători, the state-owned railway company for passengers, announced that the first train entirely made up of rolling stock modernized with funds from the EU-backed Recovery and Resilience Fund (PNRR) was introduced on the Bucharest North – Constanța route. The train, which is already running, consists of a locomotive delivered by the Softronic factory in […]
The first edition of Urban Habits (nUH), a festival aiming to be “a space for ideas, debates, co-creation, and experimentation,” takes place between April 26 and April 27 at Lokal and on Erou Ion Călin Street, which will be temporarily transformed into a pedestrian space. The program will address themes ranging from innovation, design, and […]
Mall Moldova, the largest shopping center in the Moldova region, officially opened on April 17 in Iași, covering 110,000 sqm. Developed by Prime Kapital, in partnership with MAS P.L.C., Mall Moldova is part of a large-scale investment plan carried out by the two investors in Iași, worth approximately half a billion euros, which also includes […]
