(Bloomberg) -- Avolta AG, the world’s largest duty-free operator, is benefiting from a rebound in travel even though business trips and Chinese tourism haven’t fully recovered, Chief Executive Officer Xavier Rossinyol said.

Sales have exceeded 2019 levels since March, Rossinyol said in a Bloomberg TV interview. Avolta, formerly known as Dufry, changed its name after its acquisition of Italy’s Autogrill, which runs restaurants at highway rest stops.

“We don’t see any slowdown,” the CEO said. “We see people happy to travel for pleasure and for business.”

Avolta was rocked by the slump in travel during the pandemic, and remains a bellwether of demand for flights and train trips, operating shops at travel locations in about 75 countries. 

Shares of Avolta were little changed in Zurich trading on Thursday. They have dropped 15% this year.

Travelers make about 9.5 million trips total worldwide each year, and the number is increasing by 6% every year and in 15 years it should double, Rossinyol said.

Working from home has boosted demand for short breaks, especially in the US, Rossinyol said. He added the tourist season is getting longer, saying Avolta has seen record levels of travel in October for two years in a row. 

Rossinyol expects to see the fastest growth in Asia-Pacific in the coming years, partly due to currently low market share there now. Avolta won’t make another transformational acquisition and plans to grow organically and through bolt-on purchases, the CEO said.  

Chinese travel remains below 2019 levels, but Chinese consumers are starting to travel more, mostly to destinations close to home such as Hong Kong, the CEO said. He also said Avolta’s sales of affordable luxury goods have been strong.

The recovery of travel from China is mixed by region, the CEO said. While travel from China to Italy, for example, has returned to 2019 levels, Chinese travel to other regions including North America will probably recover later.

(Updates with travel numbers in sixth paragraph.)

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