Travel Weekly and sister brand Phocuswright have released their highly anticipated 2024 Travel Industry Survey, which polled nearly 1,600 advisors over the final weeks of summer.
The comprehensive report gauged attitudes toward emerging trends such as AI and NDC as well as income, booking trends and more.
Read on for some for some of the key takeaways.
Attitudes Toward AI and NDC
Travel advisors are beginning to get more familiar with generative artificial intelligence (AI) and the controversial new distribution capability (NDC).
About four in 10 advisors have used genAI platforms, led by younger travel professionals.
When it comes to using AI, most advisors with interest find it helpful for marketing and building their websites as well as generating customized itineraries and curating packages for travelers with specific interests.
As for NDC, most advisors are still out, with the majority feeling it's not necessary, helpful or positive. "As travel advisors become familiar with NDC, they tend to adopt negative views on the digital distribution technology. This year, 54 percent of survey respondents disagreed with the statement, 'NDC is a positive development for agencies,' up from 44 percent in 2023," said Travel Weekly editor Robert Silk.
"But the increase didn’t come from those who favor NDC. That figure rose from 12 percent last year to 13 percent this year. Rather, the spike in negative views about NDC came as the number of people with no opinion on the subject dropped from 44 percent to 33 percent—a likely reflection of increasing awareness of the technology," he added.
American Airlines Boeing 737. (Photo Credit: Carlos Yudica/Adobe)
What's Generating Bookings
Approximately two-thirds of agencies reported year-over-year booking growth in 2024, which was down from 79 percent in 2023.
Ocean cruises from the U.S. (22 percent) and all-inclusive resort stays (14 percent) continue to be the biggest drivers, followed by air travel (11 percent), cruises originating from outside the U.S. (11 percent) and hotel bookings (10 percent).
"After enjoying a pandemic-era spike in popularity, the all-inclusive sector is seeing signs of pullback. All-inclusive resorts accounted for around 19 percent of advisors’ bookings in 2021, on par with ocean cruises. But while cruising has steadily gained share in subsequent years, all-inclusives have ceded ground, shrinking to 17 percent of gross bookings in 2022 and falling to 14 percent last year," Travel Weekly editor Christina Jelski said.
When booking air, advisors are most likely to use a website or travel agent-specific system (21 percent), a supplier (20 percent) or a GDS interface (18 percent).
The Latest Travel Advisor Trends
The majority of travel advisors surveyed now work from a travel agency or storefront (48 percent), a notable change from 2023 (37 percent) when 43 percent were home-based retail travel agency employees. That figure declined to 34 percent in 2024.
When it comes to the top reasons for working with a host agency, access to preferred suppliers is number one (89 percent), followed by booking travel (70 percent), access to accounting or marketing services (63 percent) and access to lead-generating marketing services (24 percent).
Ocean cruises is the most popular specialization among surveyed advisors at 62 percent, followed by specific destinations and tours and packages (54 percent), luxury travel (49 percent), river cruises (47 percent) and group travel (41 percent).
Personal relationships (34 percent), customer service (31 percent) and expertise (30 percent) are the main reasons travelers choose to book with an advisor and why they return again and again.
Inflation continues to be the most impactful factor for travel advisors in 2024, followed by higher airfares and fees and flight delays and other airport hassles. Looking ahead, survey respondents believe the same three factors along with the general state of the U.S. economy will play the biggest role in their business.
In terms of challenges faced, only competing with suppliers and direct bookings (55 percent) tops inflation for surveyed advisors.
Despite any concerns, more than seven in 10 advisors have a positive outlook for the future (72 percent) while one-quarter remain neutral.
You can view the complete 2024 Travel Industry Survey here.
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