by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 10:35 AM ET, Tue November 5, 2024
Bookings for the winter of 2024-25 are strong, ushering in what travel advisors believe will be another positive year for travel, according to advisors from host agency Travel Experts.
Travel Experts, a North Carolina-based host agency, has over 500 independent advisors affiliated with the agency. Its recent survey from advisors found that some are seeing last-minute travel on the rise. It also noted that winter is offering some travelers a chance to save and enjoy popular summer destinations without the crowds.
“Our advisors are telling us that they expect 2025 to be another good year based on early bookings for 2025 winter season,” said Sharon Fake, Executive Director for Travel Experts. “In addition, the advisors have noted that clients are booking a wider variety of destinations for winter vacations, some including longer trips than usual.”
While many travelers in colder climes are once again planning to head to warmer destinations such as Mexico or the Caribbean, South America, Asia and Europe are also pretty popular this winter.
“My winter business is fantastic,” said Jennifer Falk Weiss, owner of JFW Travel in Atlanta, Georgia. “Many of the trips were booked far in advance but there have also been last minute trips. Clients are going to so many places including Peru, France, Switzerland, Argentina, Chile, Aruba, Turks and Caicos, Mexico, St Kitts, Barbados, and St. Barths. Domestically they are vacationing in Hawaii, Highlands, North Carolina, Little Palm Island, Scottsdale and New Orleans.”
While more advisors suggest closer-to-home domestic and warm-weather escapes are more likely to be planned last minute, larger trips are also increasingly popular over winter this season.
McLean Robbins of Lily Pond Travel in Vienna, Virginia has even said that she’s seen a 20 percent increase due to lower travel costs associated with off-season travel.
"Travel around the holidays and in the weeks leading up to or after Thanksgiving, remain our strongest on record, with about a 20 percent lift over last year,” said Robbins. “Clients have found value, both in terms of lower costs and smaller crowds, in vacationing at slightly off times.”
“Clients are going around the world, from as far away as Borneo to as close in as a weekend in Palm Beach,” added Robbins. “European cities like Rome and Paris remain big, and last-minute escapes to the Caribbean and Mexico always pop up on a 30 days and under basis.”
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