U.S. travel stocks that were hit hard by the U.K.'s decision to withdraw from the European Union have rebounded slightly this week but still are notably lower than before the decision was announced last Friday.
Meanwhile, more U.S. travelers appear to be looking to take advantage of a weaker British pound by planning trips to the U.K., according to metasearch operator Hipmunk.
As of end of day Thursday, U.S. hotel stocks Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International, which had each fallen about 10% earlier in the week, were each about 4% lower than June 26, the last trading day before the U.K. decision was announced.
U.S. airline stocks American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Continental, which had fallen by about 15% earlier in the week, were down between 5% and 9% as of Thursday. By comparison, British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group, which trades on the London Stock Exchange, had plunged 26% since last Thursday.
The OTAs' stock performance has been less consistent, as Priceline Group derives a far larger percentage of its annual revenue from the U.K. than Expedia. As a result, Priceline shares as of Thursday were down 10% from a week earlier, while Expedia shares were off 3.3%. Cruise line operators were harder hit, as shares of Carnival Corp., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. were each down at least 10% from a week earlier.
While U.S. travel stocks had rebounded, their continued lag from last week indicates that investors believe that travel companies will be more hurt by the potential U.K. exit from the E.U. than other sectors. As of Thursday, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average had each regained just about all of their losses from earlier in the week, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.4%.
Meanwhile, with the value of the British pound plunging relative to the U.S. dollar -- the pound's value relative to the dollar has fallen 22% within the past two years -- U.S. travelers may be looking to take advantage. Since the U.K. vote was announced, average daily flight searches on Hipmunk for flights to the U.K. from the U.S. have increased 47% relative to the time period from June 1 to 23, the metasearch company said. Among non-U.S. destinations, Great Britain has leapfrogged Mexico and Canada in terms of flight-search popularity, according to Hipmunk.