The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price is in the red today, but could the renewed interest in international travel spell good news?
The travel company's share price closed trading at $15.35, a 3.34% fall. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished down 1.87% today.
Let's take a look at the outlook for Flight Centre shares.
International traffic numbers increase
Flight Centre shares may be down today, but they are not alone among ASX travel shares. The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is down 1.91% today, while Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) shares descended 3.42%.
International passenger traffic in July soared 1229.9% from 154,692 in July 2021 to 2.057 million in July 2022, BITRE data shows. However, traffic in July was 45% lower than July 2019.
Overall, passenger traffic for the year ended July 2022 was 8.425 million, nearly 600% more than the year ended July 2021. But this is still 80% less than the 42.146 million passengers who travelled to and from Australia in the year ended July 2019. However, the international borders only fully opened on 21 February this year.
Meanwhile, demand for passports may also be a good sign for ASX travel shares. Passport applications are averaging 12,000 a day, according to a Foreign Affairs and Trade department spokesman and cited by 7 News. This compares to 7,000 to 9,000 prior to COVID-19.
Flight Centre was the most shorted share on the ASX last week, as my Foolish colleague James reported Monday.
Flight Centre share price snapshot
The Flight Centre share price has fallen 23% in the past year, while it has lost nearly 13% in the year to date.
In comparison, the ASX 200 has shed 10.8% in the past year.
Flight Centre has a market capitalisation of more than $3 billion based on the current share price.
