Despite the persistent headwinds of economic uncertainty and political strife, many travel advisors and agency owners will close their 2025 books with higher sales than 2024.
Signature Travel Network, for instance, expects to end the year up 10%. CEO Alex Sharpe put it into perspective: "It's not the 20-plus percent growth that people have seen coming out of Covid. [But] 10% for us is real. At our volume, it's hundreds of millions of dollars, and hundreds of thousands of customers. So I'm proud about where we are."
There are no glaring indications that 2026 will be different.
Economic uncertainty remains, and the Trump administration doesn't appear to be backing down from making headlines that impact consumer sentiment or travel habits; for example, earlier in December officials said that they would expand the number of countries under the travel ban that went into effect last summer. In survey after survey this year, advisors have said that travel costs are a concern among clients, and there are no indications that prices will drop sharply next year.
But advisors have also reported that forward sales are solid, and there is a general sense of optimism about the year ahead.
One thing 2025 seems to have proved is that economic, political or social concerns don't always have a material effect on consumers' travel habits. In reader polls conducted in March, May, July/August and December, advisors said that their client concerns over anti-American sentiment remained high, averaging 63% across the four quarterly polls. Yet an average of only 24% of advisors reported actual cancellations due to these fears.
So optimism is largely high about business in 2026.
Travel Weekly's Travel Industry Survey found that 69% of respondents had positive expectations for the year ahead. That number did fall three percentage points from the 2024 survey, perhaps indicative of the tumultuous year.
In a survey conducted among Travelsavers and Network of Entrepreneurs Selling Travel agencies in October and November, only 10% of respondents said they expected sales to decrease in 2026. Among that 10%, 1% said they expected significant decreases while 9% expected sales to decrease somewhat. Nineteen percent said sales would stay the same. Nearly three-quarters expected 2026 sales to increase somewhat (49%) or significantly (23%).
Overall, the luxury and ultraluxury segments saw the least impact this year, a trend likely to continue over the next 12 months.
Host agency Travel Experts in Raleigh, N.C., is squarely focused on luxury travel. A recent survey of its advisors found that "an overwhelming number" of them said business for 2026 has increased. And they said clients are spending more on vacations in 2026.
Sharon Fake, Travel Experts' executive director, said that supplier reports "indicate that business for 2026 is trending higher than 2025 based on the increase in bookings they are seeing from our advisors."
As Signature's Sharpe said recently, now is the time for advisors to put their foot on the marketing gas pedal.
Some might have decreased marketing efforts amid the busyness of recent years; 2026 is a good time to reverse that trend and stay top of mind with clients.