The latest Altour survey is out, and the news is good. As many as 42% of Altour travel agents surveyed say the economy is not negatively impacting their clients' travel plans.
This outlook represents a 30-percentage-point increase since the March issue of Altour Travel Index, a bimonthly survey conducted by Altour, one of the largest agencies catering to the high end of the market. The encouraging signs extend from the cruise market to sun/sand/surf and all-inclusive resorts.
Sixty-eight percent of those responding to the survey reported advance bookings in the 30- to 90-day range. While this trend has held fairly steady throughout the bimonthly surveys, it was accompanied in the May issue by a decline in shorter-lead bookings. The percentage of travelers booking 14 to 30 days in advance, which had risen from a low of 4% in June 2008 to peak at 28% in December, has dropped to 16%.
On land, sun/sand/surf and all-inclusive resorts are faring the best. After consistently tracking lower than the previous year through four surveys, the largest percentage of agents (53% for sun/sand/surf and 49% for all-inclusives) now report demand on track with last year. FIT is showing some signs of recovery, although it continues to track lower than last year for 47% of respondents. Escorted tours continue to suffer, with no agents reporting more demand than last year and 65% reporting lower demand.
On sea, luxury and premium cruise sales are still generally tracking lower than 2008, but more agents are reporting high demand in those market segments than at any other time since Altour began tracking industry trends in June 2008.
Already the top destination, Europe has surged in popularity with a record 84% of survey respondents ranking it No. 1, up from 57% in March. Mexico lost its No. 2 slot to Hawaii, dropping to third place for the first time since the Travel Index began, a loss agents attribute to concerns over the H1N1 virus. At 26%, the continental U.S. posted its lowest ranking since June 2008.
With a travel volume of more than $500 million, Altour has 20 offices and more than 700 travel agents in the U.S. and Europe.
For more information, agents can visit www.altour.com.