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Travel restrictions dampen industry takeovers and mergers

Takeover and merger activity across the global travel and tourism sector fell back in July over the previous month, new research reveals.

The drop was attributed to ongoing travel restrictions and “unfavourable” market conditions.

A total of 69 deals – comprising mergers & acquisitions [M&A], private equity and venture financing – were announced, a decline of 6.8% over 74 deals in June, according to data and analytics company GlobalData.

Private equity and M&A deals fell by 58.3% and 4.7% respectively during July compared to the previous month, while the number of venture financing deals registered growth of 21.1%.

Deal activity remained at the same level in key markets such as the US, the UK and China, while India and Australia saw an improvement in deal activity.

Germany, Spain and the Netherlands experienced a month-on-month decline in deals activity.

GlobalData lead analyst Aurojyoti Bose said: “Deal activity in the travel and tourism sector still remains inconsistent.

“While June showed some signs of recovery following a decline during the past few months, the rebound in deal activity could not be sustained for long with July again reversing the trend.

“This could be attributed to prevailing travel restrictions and unfavourable market conditions for the sector in some countries.”

More: Travel industry key to Covid vaccine equality, Intrepid boss insists

Industry fears limited changes to outbound rules after inbound easing

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