Travel Industry professionals are almost equally split over whether only the wealthy will be able to afford holidays in the future, according to research released at the recent World Travel Market in London (Nov. 1-3).

Some 1,000 professionals from around the globe were asked by WTM London about the impact of the widely anticipated price increases as a result of the pandemic on the overall market. Just over half (51%) were concerned that travel will become the preserve of the rich, with 49% disagreeing.

The WTM Industry report also asked about the scale of the increases, with the net result confirming that prices are set to go up in 2022. More than one-in-three (35%) of the sample said prices were likely to go up by between 1% and 20% compared with the current year. However, intense cost pressures and the need to recover revenues lost during the pandemic mean that more than one-in-10 (12%) are expecting to put up prices by more than 20%.

On the other hand, some are anticipating prices to drop with 15% predicting a modest drop of between 1% and 20%, while 9% said their company’s prices would fall significantly, by more than 20%.

Around one-fifth (22%) expect prices to be the same.