OUTLOOK CONNECTIONS

Inside this episode:

With a vaccine unlikely to be widely available for several months, Moody’s public finance analyst Valentina Gomez, airports analyst Earl Heffintrayer, mass transit analyst Baye Larsen, airlines analyst Jonathan Root and lodgings industry analyst Peter Trombetta discuss the outlook for travel and tourism in 2021 and consider what it will take to get travellers back on the road and in the air.  

Related content:

• Passenger Airlines – Global: 2021 Outlook for global airlines negative as operating losses continue into 2022 - Although travel demand has increased since its trough, our negative outlook reflects coronavirus’s ongoing risk to passenger demand and likely large operating losses into 2022.
• Airports – US: 2021 outlook negative with high degree of traffic uncertainty, airline financial health - Worsening virus spread in much of the US poses risk to the nascent travel recovery in the first half of the year before any potential widespread vaccinations in the second half of the year.
• Mass Transit – US: 2021 outlook negative as coronavirus reduces ridership and squeezes tax revenue - Mass transit systems will continue to face financial stress caused by historically low ridership, weak tax revenue and restrained government funding amid the coronavirus crisis.
• Gaming, Lodging, Cruise and Restaurants - US: 2021 Outlook is mixed as consumers return to casinos and restaurants but cruise prospects remain negative -Our stable gaming and restaurant outlooks reflect our view that both industries have weathered the worst of the pandemic, while Lodging & Cruise remain negative.
• Local Government – US: 2021 outlook negative as weak economic conditions persist  - Weak economic conditions will keep total revenue growth muted in early 2021 before improving in the second quarter. Rising fixed costs and public service demands will strain some budgets.