Grape oversupply looming as a crisis in France

An oversupply of juice in the Charente could become a problem for the entire French wine industry. 

French industry newsletter Vitisphere is cautioning that a crisis in Cognac could become a national crisis. 

Most of the grapes from the region are traditionally used for Cognac and other brandy styles, but are in surplus. 

The production potential of the Charente vineyards is expected to be massively in surplus and could exceed 1 to 2 million hectolitres of white wines without a geographical indication (Vin de France). 

“We did everything we could to avoid disrupting anyone, but now we're reaching the limits of what we can do,” an unnamed source from the Charente region told the newsletter. 

"The risk of a surplus remains high, as confirmed by the latest Charentes-Cognac wine region council figures.

“Even with the heat and drought, the Charente region will produce at least 2 million hectolitres."

One unnamed bulk wine specialist quoted by Vitisphere said: "I foresee general chaos in the sector. No more money anywhere. The banks are pulling out. The domino effect could be stratospheric.”

The region has asked for financial aid from Brussels and Paris to avoid the financial need to flood the market.

Image: Charente vineyards, https://www.guide-de-la-charente.com/

Global tourism growing despite many challenges

The aggressive Israelis are disrupting the Middle East, the Russians attacking western Europe and the US scaring away tourists with increased costs and unwelcoming immigration policies. 

But despite all these bad actors, global tourism is up by 5% over the past six months. 

New figures from UN Tourism show almost 690 million tourists travelled internationally between January and June 2025, which is around 33 million more than in the same period of 2024. 

Results were, not surprisingly, mixed among regions and sub-regions.

UN Tourism secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili said: “In the face of global challenges, international tourism continues to see strong momentum and resilience. 

"The first half of 2025 brought growing arrival numbers and revenues for most destinations around the world, which contribute to local economies, jobs and livelihoods. Yet, this also reminds us of our great responsibility to ensure this growth is sustainable and inclusive and to work with all local stakeholders in that sense.”

Africa saw strongest performance while Asia Pacific continued to rebound.

The newest edition of the World Tourism Barometer assesses the sector’s performance by region and sub-region in the first six months of 2025. Key takeaways include: 

# Africa saw a 12% increase in January-June 2025 compared to the same period last year. Both North Africa (+14%) and sub-Saharan Africa (+11%) recorded double-digit growth this period.

# Europe welcomed nearly 340 million international tourists this first half of 2025, about 4% more than in 2024 and 7% more than in 2019. Northern, western and southern Mediterranean Europe all recorded 3% growth this period despite uneven monthly results. Central and Eastern Europe continued to rebound strongly (+9%), but remained 11% below 2019 levels, according to available data.

# The Americas recorded 3% growth in January-June 2025, with mixed results. While South America (+14%) continued to enjoy solid growth, Central America saw a 2% increase in arrivals and North America saw flat results (+0%) mostly due to declines in the United States and Canada. 

# The Middle East recorded 4% fewer arrivals this six-month period, though after a very strong post-pandemic rebound, with 29% more arrivals than the same period of 2019, the strongest regional results relative to 2019.

# Arrivals in Asia and the Pacific grew 11% this period, which is 92% of the pre-pandemic figure (-8% compared to 2019). North-East Asia (+20%) saw the strongest performance relative to 2024, though it remained 8% below 2019 levels.

Some of the highest growth rates among large destinations in H1 2025 were recorded by Japan and Vietnam (+21%), the Republic of Korea (+15%), Morocco (+19%), Mexico and the Netherlands (+7%). 

Malaysia and Indonesia both recorded 9% growth and Hong Kong 7%, though arrivals remained somewhat below 2019 levels in these destinations.

Image: Naveen Kumar Singh, Scop.io

Major airlines continue to fly high

Two of the world's major airlines are thriving in difficult economic times with Etihad and Singapore Airlines this week reporting impressive profits.

Middle East-based Etihad Airways posted its best-ever profit for the full year 2024.

It achieved a record AED 1.7 billion ($476 US million) profit.

That marked a third consecutive year of profitability and a tripling of profit from 2023, news portal Travel Mole reported.

The airline saw growth across all metrics and achieved operational efficiency improvements.

Etihad carried 18.5 million passengers in 2024, a 32% increase.

In 2024, the airline expanded its operations to over 1,700 weekly flights and increased frequencies on 25 routes over the past two years.

It also launched more than 20 new destinations, including Boston, Jaipur, Bali, and Nairobi.

“Looking ahead, I am confident we will continue to be a financially strong airline contributing to the long-term prosperity and success of the UAE," said CEO Antonoaldo Neves.

Singapore Airlines Group (SIA), meanwhile, posted 3.3% growth in the quarter to December 31, lifting operating profit to $629 US million.

This is the highest quarterly revenue on record passenger carriage, despite declining yields due to stiffer competition.

Group revenue was a record $5.2 billion for the three months, up $137 million.