What a difference a decade makes.
The shift in what travel agents were doing in response to business conditions almost 10 years ago and now is stark: back then, 71% said they were watching their expenses more carefully. Now it’s only 29%. Thirty percent of agents cut marketing expenses, something only 9% are doing today. What agents are mostly changing today is nothing (46%). And if they are changing something, it’s shifting their focus to higher-commission products (22%).
And so far this year, the good times are continuing to roll: 63% of agents said that their revenue increased during the first half of 2018, with only 9% saying it decreased.
Even fewer respondents this year than last said the U.S. economy had any impact on their business.
This is the first year we’ve asked travel agents how much money they make from their travel agency sales, a number we’ll be able to compare in the years to come.