Mobissimo

A study released by Amex last week predicts large airfare and hotel price increases over the next year. It says:

Although the pace varies significantly by region and country, published air and hotel prices worldwide are expected to rise considerably next year as business travel demand recovers in step with the global economy, outpacing the growth of supply in many markets. Regions of strong business travel demand include Europe, North America and Japan, Asia-Pacific and Australia (JAPA), with significant traffic in the trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic markets. Published air and hotel rates will increase as suppliers feel intense pressure to recover losses, soften the effect of skyrocketing fuel costs, and in some cases even grow profits. While pricing pressure remains across the airline industry, continuing competition from low-cost carriers may limit airlines’ ability to raise fares in many markets. Globally for 2006, American Express Business Travel forecasts domestic/short-haul, economy class fares will rise by three to six percent and international/long-haul business fares increasing by three to five percent. On the hotel side, room rates overall for mid-range properties will increase by one to three percent, while upper-range properties will increase by three to five percent.

You can read the full press release here. So, book your travel early this year to lock in those prices. Mobissimo will of course be here to help you as we continue to add more suppliers and remain the most comprhensive travel search engine in the industry.