To The Moon

• Delta Airlines CEO said that the industry was making a comeback.
• Travel stocks are expected to benefit during this rebound.
• Airbnb, TripAdvisor, and Booking offer the best returns.

The global travel industry is rebounding as countries reopen their borders and ease restrictions. In a statement on Wednesday, Delta’s CEO said that the company has never seen such demand. This explains why travel companies have done well recently. The ETFMG Travel Tech ETF (AWAY) has risen by 20% from its YTD low. Here are some of the best travel stocks to invest in.

Airbnb

Airbnb$Airbnb, Inc.(ABNB)$ is a leading company that provides on-demand vacation rentals services. With a market cap of over $109 billion, the firm is more valuable than Hilton, Marriott, and Wyndham, combined. Airbnb will be one of the top companies to benefit as the travel industry rebounds.

It is a good investment for several reasons. First, it operates an asset-light model in that it does not own its rooms. It is simply a technology company that takes a commission when people book rooms on its platform.

Second, Airbnb has the biggest market share in its industry. While several companies like Expedia have attempted to disrupt it, it maintains a substantial market share. Finally, its business is showing strong recovery. For example, in the fourth quarter, the firm’s revenue jumped to over $1.5 billion. This made it its best quarter on record and this trend will continue.

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor$TripAdvisor(TRIP)$ is another travel stock to invest in this year. For one, the shares have crashed by about 60% from the highest level in 2021. As a result, its total market cap has dropped to about $3.4 billion.

TripAdvisor was initially started as a platform for people to review hotels that they visited. While that core business remains, the company has expanded its business substantially. For one, it has added other brands in its ecosystem like FlipKey, The Fork, Holiday Lettings, and JetSettter among others.

It makes money through its Hotels, Media & Platform, and Experiences & Dining. With the industry set to rebound, TripAdvisor is a cheap stock to buy.

Booking Holdings

Booking Holdings$Booking Holdings(BKNG)$ is another popular travel stock. The company, which was previously known as Priceline, is one of the biggest firms with a market cap of over $80 billion.

In addition to Booking.com, the company owns Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, and Agoda. The firm made revenues of $11 billion in 2021 as its business rebounded. This revenue came from its three business segments, including agency, merchant, and advertisements.

Agency revenues come from travel-related transactions like reservations while merchant revenue come from payments it facilitates like booking. It also has an ad business that comes from KAYAK and OpenTable.