Now could be the time to load up on Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd shares

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX:FLT) share price has declined by over 10% in the last 30 days. Is it time to buy shares?

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It has not been a pleasant 30 days for shareholders of Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) who have seen its share price drop by over 10%. This means the shares are in negative territory in 2016 even when factoring in the fully franked 4.1% dividend.

The decline appears to stem from the disappointing outlook painted by both Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) and Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX: VAH). Both airlines cut capacity in the quarter ahead due to softness in demand. But I wouldn't let this put you off investing in this great company.

The UN World Tourism Organisation has forecast worldwide tourist arrivals to grow by 4% in 2016 to a record 1.25 billion. Due to the fact the company has extensive operations overseas, I believe this should more than offset a few months of soft demand for domestic travel in Australia.

Additionally, its growing corporate travel segment has been battling it out with Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) for market share. The company's corporate segment generated 35% of its global turnover in its most recent half-year results, compared to just 27% five years ago.

It also expanded its corporate presence in Europe with the acquisition of Dutch company Business Travel Development. Although a relatively small outfit, I believe Flight Centre's management has what it takes to grow it into a meaningful contributor to the overall business.

Whilst I never like to see share prices come down, the drop in Flight Centre's share price does have a couple of positives. It is trading at 14x earnings, which is lower than the market's average of 16x earnings and this also means that the shares are paying a fully franked estimated FY 2016 dividend of 4.3%.

The company has grown its dividend at an average of almost 13% per annum over the last 10 years. Although this is expected to slow to around 6% per annum for the next couple of years, I believe it represents a solid dividend with long-term growth prospects.

In my opinion the recent decline in Flight Centre's share price represents a great opportunity to start a long-term buy and hold investment. In the last 10 years shareholders have been rewarded handsomely for holding its shares and I expect this to prove to be the case over the next 10 years.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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