A snapshot of advisor trends: Travel Weekly

A snapshot of advisor trends

LEISURE VS. BUSINESS: Home-based agencies book the largest share of leisure (94%) while traditional agencies book the most corporate (18%).

WHERE TRADITIONAL ADVISORS WORK: The share of traditional advisors working from home decreased as travel agency/retail storefront share jumped 11 percentage points.

REASONS FOR USING A HOST AGENCY: Access to preferred suppliers is the key reason advisors use a host agency.

WHAT ADVISORS SPECIALIZE IN: More than six in 10 advisors include ocean cruises among their specialties.

ADVISOR SELF-DESCRIPTION: “Travel advisor” remains the most popular job title, with 49% using the term.

AVERAGE CLIENT AGE AND INCOME: Travel advisors typically service older and wealthier clients.

MAIN REASON CLIENTS BOOK WITH ADVISORS: Advisors believe personal relationships, expertise and customer service are the main reasons travelers book with them.

FUTURE EXPECTATIONS: More than seven in 10 travel advisors have positive expectations for the future of the travel agency landscape.

ANNUAL GROSS BOOKINGS: In 2023, 43% of agencies had $300,000 or less in total gross bookings; 32% transacted more than $1 million.

HOW ADVISORS BOOK HOTELS: Specialized travel advisor websites and systems are the top hotel booking channels for advisors.

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES VS. ICs, PER AGENCY: The industry is dominated by independent contractors.

FACTORS THAT WERE MOST IMPACTFUL LAST YEAR: In the past year, four of the top five factors that were most impactful on agencies were related to cost and the economy.

In 2019, looking at the top 5 issues impacting travel advisors, security and terrorism was No. 1, while rising airfares and fees was the only cost-related concern advisors cited. They were more concerned about internet-based competition and airport hassles. Fast-forward to this year’s survey, and costs, in various forms, dominate their concerns: The increased cost of travel tops the list, followed by airfares at No. 2 and U.S. economic conditions at No. 4. Security and safety is in the top 5, and pandemics, which was a top concern for several years, doesn’t crack the top 10.

—Johanna Jainchill

WHAT ADVISORS THINK WILL HAVE THE MOST FUTURE IMPACT: Advisors said they were concerned about the U.S. election as well as security and safety and high costs.

Agencies expect that high travel costs and air travel disruption will continue over the next 12 months. Security and safety issues, likely owing to growing issues of war and terrorism around the world, jumped 12 percentage points in this year’s outlook. Another unsurprising concern was related to the U.S. presidential election, which rose from 22% to 30%.

—J.J.

TOP CHALLENGES OF BEING A TRAVEL ADVISOR: Supplier competition, inflation and finding new clients top the list, while hiring, keeping customers and production education are not huge challenges.

Advisors say the top challenge of being a travel advisor is competing with suppliers. And while over the years some suppliers have been more difficult than others — airlines ending commissions, hotels giving perks for direct bookings — even agent-friendly sectors like the cruise industry can elbow in. According to Phocuswright research, during the pandemic, direct cruise sales grew from 21% of bookings in 2019 to 35% in 2022. While cruise suppliers are taking share from OTAs and not traditional advisors, they are clearly getting savvier when it comes to bypassing intermediaries.

—Andrea Zelinski