For those that are anxious about hlo here's today's write up about travel and hlo in The Australian/*. This will skyrocket over the next 12 months. Dip now looks like a buying opportunity.

Travel and tourism are taking off, and investors can jump on board

Is it time to bank on travel again? Picture: Getty Images

• By JEREMY LIDDLE
• *
• 2:05PM MAY 9, 2024

Jeremy Liddle is executive director of tech and finance PR and investment agency Third Hemisphere, as well as a * columnist.

The era of stocking up on face masks and staring longingly at our passport from the confines of isolation are long gone.

In 2023, the global travel and tourism sector jumped 23.2 per cent from the year prior to 9.1 per cent of global GDP, with McKinsey research showing that individuals increasingly favour spending on experiences over material possessions.

And you’ve got to be online to capture the greatest demand.

Online and app booking experiences are now largely preferred for modern travellers, with a 142 per cent increase in mobile bookings between 2022 and 2023.

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The global online travel agency market size, valued at $53.534 billion in 2022, is expected to expand at a sizeable CAGR of 6.76 per cent reaching $79.258 billion by 2028.

The travel sector has outperformed traditionally “safe” stocks such as utilities and banks, with the Dow Jones U.S. Travel & Tourism Total Stock Market Index (DWCTTR) returning +29.69 per cent compared to the banks’ index at +6.20 per cent last year.

The returned demand, combined with the booming growth of new travel technologies, presents diverse investment opportunities.

So who are some of the travel technologies to watch out for in 2024?

HELLOWORLD TRAVEL (ASX:HLO)

Helloworld Travel is an Australian and New Zealand travel distribution company, comprising retail travel networks, corporate travel management services, destination management services (inbound), air ticket consolidation, wholesale travel services, and online operations.

It’s also on a significant profit growth trajectory, likely buoyed by the aforementioned shifting consumer trend towards experiences over material possessions.

In the six months ending December 31, 2023, HLO achieved an underlying (EBITDA) profit of $34 million, more than double the $15.6 million profit reported for the same period the prior year.

Among the highlights of the half-year for HLO was the completion of the merging of Express Travel Group (ETG) which it says upped efficiency by combining technologies and operations and a 30.3 per cent underlying EBITDA to revenue margin “with improving efficiencies and high productivity”.