November 4, 2021
Booking Holdings Inc beat market expectations for quarterly profit and revenue on Wednesday but warned that a surge of COVID-19 in Europe is creating uncertainty about demand for holiday tourism.
The travel company benefited from a rebound in leisure travel in the third quarter and the decision by the US to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated tourists from November 8.
Its shares rose 3.7% in extended trading as gross travel bookings rose 77% year-on-year to $23.7 billion.
The online travel agency, which also owns travel website Kayak, warned that the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in European countries such as Germany, Russia and Italy had a negative impact on hotel room occupancy at the end of October.
In Asia, where higher vaccination rates and an easing of travel restrictions boosted domestic tourism, forecasts were more optimistic.
In the US, too, bookings for Christmas and New Year saw an increase in gross bookings compared to the same period last year.
Total revenue rose 77% to $4.68 billion in the third quarter, beating previous forecasts of $4.30 billion.
For more information, read the original story in Reuters.
