Changes in what's being booked

Leisure travel continued to reign supreme in 2021, accounting for 85% of gross bookings. That percentage was slightly down compared to the year prior, however, when leisure bookings made up more than 90% of the pie, due primarily to the dearth of business travel during the height of the pandemic in 2020.

While still trailing leisure, business and corporate bookings appear to be picking up, albeit slowly. For traditional agencies, that’s good news, as business is a larger part of their mix, accounting for nearly 30% of gross bookings last year.

—Christina Jelski

Among the most significant, but not unexpected, shifts of the 2021 Travel Industry Survey was that for the first time in 11 years, advisors booked more domestic than international travel. This year, the survey shows the trend is back on prepandemic track, with international travel representing 55% of bookings and domestic 45%. It’s still far from the 63%-37% split in 2018, but it is moving in a direction likely to continue as travel normalizes.

—Johanna Jainchill

Few travel categories have enjoyed as strong a bull run as the all-inclusive sector, as pandemic-era vacationers flocked to leisure destinations with outdoor amenities and safe, bubble-like environments. With cruising also off the table for much of 2020 and 2021, many travelers who may have normally taken a cruise instead opted for all-inclusives, which some advisors even marketed as “land cruises.”

In 2020, all-inclusive resorts were the top-selling travel product for advisors, accounting for 21% of all revenue, and in 2021, that share shrunk slightly but remained relatively high, with all-inclusives and ocean cruises originating within the U.S. tied for the lead. By comparison, back in 2018, all-inclusives accounted for just 13% of all revenue.

Moreover, in 2021, 68% of advisors reported that all-inclusives were a top-ranked focus product, putting it just above ocean cruises at 64%. 

Looking ahead, many of hospitality’s biggest players appear to be betting on the all-inclusive category’s continued growth. Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels Corp., Hilton and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts are among those that have poured significant investment into growing their all-inclusive footprints in recent years.

—C.J.

Ocean cruise bookings drove revenue for advisors, despite ships only re-entering service from U.S. ports in the back half of the year, making up the biggest chunk of revenue at a combined 27% for both U.S. and international departures. River cruises made up 8% of revenue. Correspondingly, ocean cruises are the top travel specialization among agents. But advisors said they focused more on all-inclusive resorts in 2021, a fall for cruises, which had top billing for many years prepandemic. It appears to reflect the long pause and the early restart primarily made up of die-hard cruisers itching to get back to the seas despite strict Covid regulations.

—Andrea Zelinski

Bookings for all travel, especially air and river cruises, skyrocketed in the past 12 months. All-inclusive resorts, which agents focused on more in 2021, also grew significantly. 

While ocean cruises departing from the U.S. saw a 55% growth, ocean sailings outside the U.S. were slower to rebound at about half that, reflecting the complications of traveling outside the U.S. that permeated the last 12 months, including Covid testing and the conflict in Ukraine. The jump in river cruises outside the U.S. may well reflect that these smaller, upscale ships often book further out.

—A.Z.

High airfares are a significant concern for travel advisors as they look toward next year, and not without reason. Airfares in September were up 42.1% year-over-year on average, according to the Consumer Price Index. Airlines, though, are still reporting robust demand. And economy fares within the U.S and Canada don’t look nearly as bad when compared with pre-
pandemic prices, up just 5%, according to one recent analysis. Conversely, premium seat prices in the North American market are up 36% from 2019.

—Robert Silk

While the pandemic and government policies still top the list of concerns, it’s clear that the global economy and inflation are weighing on travel advisors, with three of the top five concerns related to the economy and cost. Global economic stability, cited by only 10% of respondents in last year’s survey, rose to 43% and knocked airport hassles and delays out of the top 5. 

—J.J.