What was canceled or rebooked

The travel categories that were most likely to stay on the books were inclusive resorts and vacation rentals, with theme parks and hotel bookings just behind them. Packaged tours were canceled only slightly more frequently than cruises, but escorted tours took a slightly bigger hit. No category of cruise or tour had more than 13% of reservations remaining booked.

Not surprisingly, nearly 60% of respondents said that during the pandemic, they watched expenses more carefully, while 34% cut their marketing budget and 34% developed a new or different business plan. A combined 40% either increased focus on higher commission products or concentrated on areas with higher margins, which was especially true for the largest home-based agencies. And 15% expanded their agency's offerings and branched out into new products. This can be seen in the changes in the travel product mix, such as turning to more vacation rentals and all-inclusive resorts as cruises and tours stayed shuttered. 

The top earning traditional agencies were the most inclined to shake up their business plans, with half indicating a change in strategy. Among those that said they developed a new or different business plan, more than half, 54%, were "hosted independent contractors" and 21% were fully independent. 

The largest agencies appeared to have gained strength: 20% of the largest traditional agencies, and 18% of the largest home-based ones, took on more staff. The other categories didn't even come close. 

Home-based agencies were less likely to cut their marketing costs, perhaps because they didn't budget as much as traditional agencies do and depend more on co-op marketing.

With many travelers still hesitant to start trip-planning in earnest, advisors saw a 19% dip in their customer base this year. The news, however, wasn't all bad. Travel advisors saw their overall sales in the first half of 2021 increase 18% over the same period in 2020 and gaining another point by the end of the year.

Travel advisors also reported a modest 3% gain in first-time clients. Dealing with new clients isn't always easy, with advisors having to separate tire-kickers from those serious about booking. The trend is encouraging, however, suggesting that a growing number of travelers are recognizing the value of working with a travel professional.

With cruising the only industry segment that was not allowed to operate, it's no surprise that cruises of all kinds had the highest rate of cancellations. And with borders closed, tours and air were the next most-impacted. The least-impacted were domestic products and those that tend to be booked by individuals, families or small groups, such as vacation rentals, car rentals, hotels and theme parks. 

Products that were canceled were also the most likely to get rescheduled, especially because cruise lines offered supersize future cruise credits of up to 125% of their value.