5 Ways To Invest in Travel and Tourism

Most consumers becomem familiar with the travel and tourism industry when they take flights or enjoy family vacations. However, these same activities can also provide investment opportunities, as many tourism companies are publicly traded.

Listed below are five areas of the travel and tourism market that could prove lucrative for investors. It could also help committed travelers better understand the landscape and hunt down some travel deals.

Key Takeaways

• The travel and tourism industry includes companies that provide travel, accommodations, and entertainment to tourists and vacationers.
• Many companies in the tourism industry are traded on public stock exchanges.
• Online travel providers have largely replaced travel agents as the main way to book flights and hotel stays.
• Cruises provide an attractive alternative to some vacationers, providing entertainment, accommodation, and travel as a single package.
• Mega resorts and casinos can also provide an alternative experience to traditional tourism.

Online Travel Providers

As with many industries, revenue continues to shift to the internet when it comes to providing travel and tourism services. Stock brokers have been replaced in large part with online trading platforms, while traditional travel agents have had to compete with online websites that allow consumers to shop for low prices and convenient schedules.

Leading online travel providers include publicly-traded players such as Orbitz, Priceline and Expedia. In particular, Booking Holding’s Priceline has been highly successful in driving traffic to its website to book flights and bid for cheap, last minute travel deals.

Cruising

The cruise line industry has been in existence for more than a century, but still is not that widespread as a travel choice for many consumers. Carnival, the largest cruise line operator in the world, has 157 ships worldwide, with a total capacity of over 400,000 passengers per year.

Capacity is also growing. The global cruise industry has a total capacity of 733,000 in 2023, and it is expected to reach 827,000 by 2027.

1.4 billion

The number of people who travelled internationally in 2024, according to the U.N. World Tourism Organization.

Hotels

The hotel industry is dominated by publicly traded companies like Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, and Hyatt Hotels. They have largely blanketed their home United States market and are growing internationally. The chains have also pursued managing properties for hotel owners, as well as timeshares that give consumers the right to use their properties for a week, or more, during each calendar year.

Mega Resorts

Large resort operators combine the development of hotels with other entertainment and related amenities. Publicly-traded operators in this space include Ryman Hospitality Group, which owns the Opryland resort in Nashville and other properties in Texas, Florida and Maryland. It specializes in massive resorts that allow big travel groups to host conventions and other giant gatherings.

Vail Resorts owns some of the best-known ski resorts in Colorado and surrounding areas. This includes Vail Mountain, Breckenridge, and Beaver Creek Resort. Of course, The Walt Disney Company specializes in kid-friendly theme parks, hotels, and entertainment complexes, such as Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California.

Casinos

Las Vegas-style gambling is growing rapidly across Asia. Macao has grown into the largest gambling market in the world and has seen the building of massive casino resorts from Las Vegas-based firms such as Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands. Both are publicly traded companies. This growth is expanding to other parts of Asia, including Singapore, and potentially Vietnam and Japan.

How Profitable Is the Tourism Industry?

International tourism plays an important role in the U.S. economy, as well as the world economy. According to the International Trade Administration, tourism contributes about $2.3 trillion to the U.S. GDP each year, and accounts for 22% of the country’s services exports.

What Is the Biggest Hotel Chain?

Marriott International is the world’s biggest hotel chain in terms of both revenue and profits. In 2024, Marriott reported $25 billion in revenue and $2.4 billion in net income.

What Is the Biggest Tourism Destination for Americans?

Mexico is by far the most frequent destination for U.S. travelers abroad, receiving nearly 40 million Americans each year. Canada is second with 15 million, and European countries like the United Kingdom, France, and Italy account for over 3 million each.

The Bottom Line

These are just some of the many opportunities to invest in the travel and tourism industries across the world. Overseas growth, especially in emerging market economies, should continue to outpace that in more developed markets in North America and Europe. However, as with the online travel space, there will always be pockets that are picking up market share in every part of the world.