NEW YORK -- Almost two-thirds of retailers are operating in the red
or, at best, breaking even in the face of the triple-whammy of
9/11, a stubborn business recession, and Iraq war jitters,
according to an exclusive poll of readers undertaken by Travel
Weekly.
Of the 1,864 travel agents who responded to TW's quick-hit
e-mail survey, 38% said their businesses were running a profit,
while 34% said they were breaking even and 28% reported showing a
loss.
Of course, a more sanguine reading of the same figures would
lead to the rosier conclusion that almost three-quarters of
respondents (72%) were operating in the black or at least treading
water while awaiting better times.
One industry observer, Vacation.com president and CEO Dick
Knodt, said, "I think this reflects the market very well. I guess
the surprising thing would be that it is exactly what I would have
suspected and I think most would have expected. The research ...
acts as confirmation."
In the survey, almost four out of five travel agents (79%) said
they had slashed costs in the last year as a way of coping with the
economic pressures exerted on the travel industry. In addition, 57%
noted they had raised fees in the same period in an effort to put
some lift under their bottom lines.
About a third, or 35%, said they were developing new niches.
Agents are apparently ambivalent about attending industry
meetings, conventions and seminars in the current environment.
Nineteen percent said they increased attendance due to recent
conditions, but 15% said they have cut back attendance at such
events.
Only 12% resorted to closing a branch office.
Trend-spotters can take heart that more than half of the
respondents maintained the size of their staffs in the past six
months and that almost two-thirds (71%) plan to hold firm through
the next six months. Moreover, while 28% said they had cut
employees in the recent past, only 9% figured to trim their staffs
in the next six months. Two out of five, in fact, hope to add
positions before the year is out.
Perhaps reflecting the public's uncertainty in the face of war
with Iraq, only 40% of those polled by TW said their international
sales were meeting expectations, while 43% said this sector was
worse than expected.
Somewhat more than half reported cruise, tour and domestic
travel sales were in line with expectations.
Agents in the survey were geographically dispersed, with about
30% in the East, 29% in the West, and the remainder split evenly
between the South and Midwest.
About 36% of those responding reported annual sales under $2
million; 21% reported sales between $2 million and $10 million, and
22% reported $10 million or more.