The year that was… 2008

Soaring hotel rates, bumper occupancies and buoyant inbound and outbound traffic — by any standards, 2008 started out as a boom year. Kathi Everden picks out the highs and lows.

For many, 2008 was year zero - a time when regional carriers announced their intentions to follow the global trend to cut agency commissions, forcing the trade to look at ways and means of evolving into travel management companies rather than ticket issuers.

And perhaps consequently, 2008 was a year when more brochures came to the table as agencies and airlines bundled air, accommodation and tour options into one package.

It was also a period when economy travel came of age in the Gulf, with low-cost carriers and budget hotels mushrooming, while at the same time, demand for more exotic and off-the-beaten-track locations were on the rise.

Carriers such as Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Emirates Airline continued their progression around the world inaugurating routes to - for them - virgin territories such as Brazil, China and Australia, while global carriers continued to enhance their presence in the region.

Inbound, the ‘full' sign was up at many times in most destinations as business and leisure traffic continued to grow, while Dubai stressed its global credentials topping hotel rate and RevPAR league tables according to STR Global and coming second only to New York in terms of occupancy with the average hitting 81.6% up to end of August 2008.

But, while the news all looked good, the looming recession in many source markets this winter - as well as a slowing down of regional economies - has raised questions as to the pace of development and whether demand will falter in 2009.

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