Steady Growth in Travel Despite Market Uncertainty, Say GHA Leaders

The Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest collective of independent hotel brands, held its annual CEO meeting in Brussels last week. Over 30 senior executives and brand leaders from more than 45 hotel brands gathered at the stylish Corinthia Hotel Brussels to discuss the evolving global travel scene, and the outlook remains optimistic.

The key themes highlighted include the resilience of the industry driven by loyalty programmes, the prominent role of the US market, rising outbound travel from China and India, and expansion plans across Europe and beyond. Despite global uncertainties, the GHA leaders are confident in the continued growth of travel and the strength of their alliance.

“We are operating in a volatile global environment, but as an industry, we have learned to adapt and stay agile in response to these fluctuations, and therefore remain optimistic,” said Chris Hartley, CEO of Global Hotel Alliance. “Travel demand is rising, particularly in the luxury and upscale segments where we specialise, and the strength of our alliance – driven by our loyalty platform, GHA DISCOVERY – positions our brands to capitalise on this momentum, particularly as many emerging growth markets are yet to reach their full potential.”

Hartley moderated the panel discussion titled ‘Navigating the Future of Travel’, featuring insights from key industry figures including Simon Naudi of Corinthia, Barbara Muckermann of Kempinski, Dillip Rajakarier of Minor Hotels, and Choe Peng Sum of Pan Pacific Hotels. He noted that in Q1 2025, more than 300 million global tourists travelled, marking a 5% rise from the same period last year and surpassing pre-pandemic numbers. This positive trend continues despite geopolitical tensions and high inflation impacting the sector.

Europe continues to be a strong performer, welcoming 125 million international visitors from January to March— a two per cent increase compared to 2024. Countries like Spain saw a nine per cent rise, while Turkey, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and France all reported healthy growth, according to the UN’s World Tourism Barometer.

In Europe, the 17 GHA hotel brands operating 363 properties generated $1.1 billion in revenue from GHA DISCOVERY loyalty members in 2024. European members are among the most active, with significant spending both within Europe and in other regions.

“One-third of our customers are from the US and this will remain a keymarketfor us going forward,” revealed Simon Naudi, Managing Director & Group CEO CorinthiaGroup. “But we’re also focused on new markets in Asia. India and China have huge outbound potential, and we’re seeing more affluent travellers from these markets coming to Europe.”

Q1 2025 UN Tourism data shows a 12 per cent year-on-year increase in visitors to Asia and the Pacific, the fastest growth of any region. The rising middle classes in China and India, eager for experiences and exploration, present significant opportunities for growth.

“The China andIndia outboundmarkets are exploding,” said Choe Peng Sum, CEO Pan PacificHotels Group. “Unless you know how to tapinto thosemarkets, particularly the FIT sector, you’ll miss out. That’s where thealliancecan help. We can pivot, we can be nimble – and that’s key.”

The strength of GHA’s loyalty ecosystem was also a key theme. CEOs highlighted how membership allows independent brands to maintain their unique identities while benefiting from collective reach and recurring business.

“The beautiful part of theallianceis that ourhotels retain their DNA,” said Choe. “For the guest, that’s powerful. And it works –inTokyo, 70% of our bookings came through GHA DISCOVERY within three months of opening.”

Dillip Rajakarier, Group CEO MinorHotels, which operates more than 300hotelsinEurope, added: “GHA DISCOVERY offers simplicity, choice, and value; guests can choose from 850 uniquehotels around the world and earn DISCOVERY Dollars (D$)instead of complicated points, and that keeps theminthe ecosystem, spending and staying with the growing number ofhotelsinthe loyalty programme.”

Looking ahead, all four CEOs shared ambitious expansion plans. Corinthia is opening new hotels in New York, Bucharest, Brussels, and later this year in Rome. Kempinski continues to lead in Germany’s luxury segment and is expanding its footprint. Minor Hotels is adding 30 new properties across Europe, while Pan Pacific is leveraging its London flagship to grow further in Europe.

Barbara Muckermann, CEO, Kempinski Hotels, noted that while global headwinds exist, the outlook is positive: “Whenever there’s uncertainty, there are opportunities. We are not seeing a slowdown in travel; in fact, we believe the next five years will be exceptionally strong for our industry. China is a sleeping giant, and it’s waking up.”

Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, the outlook remains positive. The UN predicts international arrivals will grow by three per cent to five per cent, with GHA’s results reflecting this optimism. in 2024, the alliance recorded a record US$2.7 billion in hotel stay revenue, and Q1 2025 revenues are already up 15 per cent.

As GHA continues to grow, adding new brands such as Cinnamon Hotels in Sri Lanka, Sunway in Malaysia, and Rotana, the alliance is fast approaching 1,000 properties.

“Independentbrands want to remain unique, but they also want reach – that’s what GHA offers,” said Hartley. “And as moretravellers look for authentic, luxurious, and experiential stays, our model delivers exactly that.”

He added,“Our goal has always been to create value for ourhotelbrands and GHA DISCOVERY members alike. We’ve built a platform that’s simple, powerful, and growing fast, which is key to driving resilience and repeat guest revenue.”