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 famous show "Ovo" ("egg" in Portuguese), created in 2009 by Cirque du Soleil, is scheduled for April 23–26, 2026, at BT Arena in Cluj-Napoca. So far, the classic Cirque du Soleil show has delighted over 7 million spectators in 40 different countries. Despite its age, it has been reimaged, with a new set, acrobatic […]
The state-owned group Electrica is set to list the largest green corporate bond issuance in Romania, worth EUR 500 million, on the Luxembourg and Bucharest stock exchanges. According to the company's press release, the European Investment Bank is one of the key participants in the issuance. Overall investor demand at the final price exceeded the […]
Low-cost airline Wizz Air announced a major expansion of its operations in Bucharest, adding a second aircraft to its base at Băneasa Airport starting this October. The airline will relocate nine routes from Otopeni to Băneasa, five of which will be operated exclusively from the secondary airport. At the same time, six new routes will […]
The annual inflation rate in Romania rose to 5.7% in June, up from 5.45% in May, according to data published on Friday, July 11, by the National Institute of Statistics. It is the highest level this year. The consumer price index, compared to May, was 0.45%. The inflation rate from the beginning of the year, […]
A taxi driver who refused to pick up a passenger at Bucharest’s Henri Coandă International Airport on Thursday night, citing the rule that prohibits the second car in line from leaving the queue, was fined and had his professional license suspended, according to the Romanian Police. Local news channel Digi24...
Local authorities in Buzău County, in the south-east of Romania, announced the opening for traffic of the new bridge over the Buzău River on Friday, July 11. At over 1.3 km in length, it is the second-longest road bridge in the country and is part of the Lot 1 Buzău – Vadu Pașii of the […]
