You may have to pay more for your air tickets and hotels in 2019

You may have to pay more for your air travel and hotel rooms in 2019. According to an industry forecast, cost of air travel is likely to go up by 2.6 percent and the hotel costs by 3.7 percent, inspite of downside risks from a trade war.  
 
Airfares are expected to rise by more than 7 percent in countries, including India, New Zealand, Norway, Germany, and Chile, according to annual business travel forecast from Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).
 
Airline costs, including for fuel and labour, have been rising, leading carriers to attempt to push up fares or add fuel surcharges to maintain margins.
 
"Speaking for the Asia-Pacific region, we are coming off a period three to four years ago where there was a lot of capacity in the system (and) fares were down pretty significantly, potentially lower than was sustainable," said Michael Valkevich, CWT`s vice president for global sales & program management, Asia Pacific, as cited by Reuters. "So I think we are getting to a bit more of a renormalisation of sustainable fares."
 
The report also stated that the International Air Transport Association in June forecast passenger yields, a proxy for airfares, would rise by 3.2 percent this year in the first increase since 2011 as a stronger global economy drives growth in demand. CWT/GBTA predicted a 3.5 percent rise in airfares in 2018 in a forecast released last year.

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An increased demand for air travel is the driving force behind the rise in hotel rates which is expected to rise by more than 5 percent in Asia and Europe, by 2.1 percent in North America and to fall by 1.3 percent in Latin America.
 
Hotel groups including France`s Accor SA and US-based Marriott International Inc have reported strong growth in revenue per available room in Asia and Europe this year.
 
The CWT/GBTA forecast said despite its positive outlook, risks remained for the global economy in 2019 from the rise of protectionist policies, the stoking of trade wars and uncertainty over Britain`s exit from the European Union, reports Reuters.