Another Bright Spot Emerges for Travel in 2010

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Close readers of everything that Clockwork churns out for your viewing enjoyment may have caught the July 31 post on online bookings being the lone bright spot in a travel industry that will continue to be brutally battered well into 2010. That was based on the findings of market research firm PhoCusWright Inc.

Perhaps PhoCusWright should compare notes with HIS Global Insight, whose data shows business travel will also recover next year.

Indeed, HIS Global Insight predicts a 1.2 percent annual growth rate in the five years through 2013, based on its study with the National Business Travel Association sponsored by Egencia. One reason the NBTA is bullish beyond 2010 is because of the business travel needs spurred by globalization.

As for overall travel, there are signs that it is on the mend as well, at least based on Cathay Pacific announcing it has flown back into the black.

"There is still no sign of early recovery," Cathay Pacific chairman Christopher Pratt cautions TravelMole.com. "The best we can say at the moment is the worst may now be over."