BANFF, Alberta -- Operators attending the U.S. Tour Operators Association's annual meeting here feel that for the most part, they have likely survived the worst.

"I am probably the most surprised person at this conference that a [USTOA] tour operator has not gone out of business," said USTOA President Bob Whitley at a press conference during the organization's Annual Conference & Marketplace, held Dec. 8 to 10.

"I truly believe we're going to make it," Whitley added.

Tour operators acknowledged that they made it in large part by reducing costs drastically at the start of 2009. They said they have had to make tough decisions such as canceling unfilled tours or axing unfruitful product lines as the year progressed.

But perhaps, said USTOA Chairman Charlie Ball, president of Princess Cruises & Tours, that also meant creating better, more effective businesses. "Our businesses are leaner than they've been in years," said Ball, who completes his two-year term as chairman on Dec. 31. He will be succeeded by John Stachnik, president of Mayflower Tours.

Nevertheless, the tour operator landscape is not without its challenges heading into 2010. Nearly 70% of tour operators and wholesalers said that business was down in 2009, according to a USTOA member survey conducted in November, based on responses from 51 brands.

To get through the crisis, said Ball, the industry will have to work together to overcome the financial challenges it faced in the last year as people hesitated to book leisure trips.

"This was a crisis that affected all of our partners," said Ball. "We had a lot more help than we're probably accustomed to," he added, referring to suppliers with whom operators were able to negotiate favorable prices to create deals and discounts to help restimulate demand in the travel sector.

Those discounts will continue into 2010. Seventy-five percent of survey respondents said prices will be lower next year than in 2009 by an average of 5%.

Twenty percent of member operators surveyed said that business had already turned a corner. Nearly 70% predicted a turnaround in 2010; of those, more than 30% saw business picking up in the first quarter, nearly 25% predicted a second-quarter pickup and more than 10% said the turnaround would not occur until the third quarter.

Nearly 15% predicted that there would be no recovery in 2010.