The travel/tourism sector was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic last year. As international travel grounded to a halt, and even domestic restrictions put in place, ASX-listed travel shares wound down.
While 2021 has had its share of lockdowns and restrictions, things are starting to look up again for the travel industry.
At the time of writing, Australia has administered 6.59 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. Currently, 3.4% of the population is fully vaccinated.
We now have the Trans-Tasman travel bubble with New Zealand, and Singapore is already slated to form a travel bubble with Australia in the future.
In saying that, now seems like a good time to look at the ASX travel shares delivering so far in 2021.
Top 3 ASX travel shares
Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ)
Alliance Aviation is a Queensland-based airline that specialises in charter and group travel. The airline operator provides transport to a range of customers spanning the resources sector, government, tourism, etc.
The disruptions to the aviation industry from COVID-19 opened an opportunity for Alliance over the last 18 months.
With essential services pushing forward, this ASX travel share plugged the hole in the demand for essential transport, for example, FIFO workers. Unsurprisingly, Alliance reported a 176.4% increase in charter revenue for the first half of FY21.
Since then, Qantas has signed a wet lease agreement for up to 14 of Alliance's aircrafts commencing from mid-2021. Other catalysts include Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) signing contract renewals for charter services.
The Alliance Aviation share price has netted shareholders 17.7% so far this year… Not too shabby.
Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)
Picking up silver for the best performing travel share so far in 2021 is business travel solution provider, Corporate Travel Management (CTM).
Although the company's revenue fell off a cliff following border closures, Corporate Travel Management is staging a comeback with a focus on domestic activity. In the FY21 first half report, CTM indicated it could return to profitability solely on domestic travel.
Additionally, over the years CTM has grown its presence in the United States beyond that of Australia. The northern hemisphere represents 80% of group revenue, which bodes well when the US has fully vaccinated 45.7% of its population.
This ASX-listed travel share is riding the reopening rebound. At the time of writing, the Corporate Travel Management share price is up 20.9% so far this year.
Sealink Travel Group Ltd (ASX: SLK)
SeaLink might just be the only ASX-listed travel share that experienced a substantial revenue increase from January 2020. The company provides transport and tourism experiences across its bus and ferry services which operate internationally.
A well-timed acquisition of Transit Systems Group (TSG) in January 2020 de-risked the company's exposure to the pandemic. TSG brought onboard established public bus services in Australia, in addition to international bus operations in London and Singapore.
The acquisition took SeaLink's annualised non-discretionary revenue to 91%. Furthermore, the company went on to win, commence, and renew more contracts throughout 2020.
As a result, total revenue climbed 329.5% to $570.8 million in the first half of FY21. Meanwhile, net profit after tax increased 266.4% to $32 million.
Shareholders have clearly been flocking to SeaLink Travel Group this year. At the time of writing, this ASX travel share is up 40.5% so far in 2021. Pretty good for a travel stock during a global pandemic.
