The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price could have new life breathed into it, thanks to an influx of new business travellers in the construction, engineering, and healthcare sectors. That's according to a sample of recent Flight Centre booking statistics published in the Australian Financial Review.
Flight Centre shares are currently 2.15% higher at $16.19 apiece. The company's share price has staged a recovery over the past month, gaining 5.6% although it remains down 8% year to date.
The release of pent-up demand for international demand could be sending its shares flying higher, and these new figures could alter the velocity of its recovery. Let's cover the highlights.
Construction business travel is booming
Business travel for workers in the construction industry has grown 145 per cent compared with the period January to September 2019. It's become Flight Centre's third most important source of passengers, the article said.
Some catalysts for this percentage increase were said to be construction projects happening around the country, including the Commonwealth Games, due to be held in Victoria in 2026, and the Olympic Games to be hosted by Brisbane in 2032.
Flight Centre corporate managing director ANZ Melissa Elf commented:
Construction is absolutely booming across the country, from houses and units to high-rises and new stadiums, and this has led to a massive rise in the need for this industry to get on a plane to carry out business.
Engineering and medical business travel is also rising
Elf went on to say that Flight Centre is seeing similar growth in passengers from the engineering sector and that passenger numbers in the medical industry are also on the rise:
Engineering has followed a similar path to construction with its significant growth versus pre-COVID in 2019 but medical, understandably, has moved into the top four for the first time since before the pandemic began.
Overall, the mining and government sectors are the two most important industries for Flight Centre, according to the report.
This reboot adds to the positive coverage Flight Centre received last Tuesday, when a Macquarie broker stated that the company would likely surprise the market by posting better-than-expected results at its next annual general meeting.
The reasons for the broker's optimism are Australia's low unemployment rate and continued strong consumer spending.
Flight Centre share price snapshot
The Flight Centre share price is down 17.5% over the past year. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 8.6% over the same period.
The company's market capitalisation is around $3.22 billion.
