2018 Wave Season Outlook

Avoya Travel's network of top-producing independent agencies is bullish on the upcoming 2018 Wave Season.

The award-winning host agency recently polled all of its independent agencies producing more than $1 million in annual sales to garner insight into what to expect from next year's frenzied three-month booking period.

Overall, the sales outlook is extremely positive.

Four out of five agencies surveyed anticipate 2018 sales to be better than or the same as 2017, citing pent-up demand for those who may have held back this year and a healthy economy, as well as increased inventory and ship innovations.

MORE Host Agency & Consortia

Signature Launches Series of Regional Meetings and...

Travel Leaders Honors Agencies, Supplier Partners During...

Franchise vs. Host: Determining the Best Option for Your...

Lesley Egbert of Live Longitude Travel pointed to a strong stock market as a reason for optimism. "I’ve seen both spending per trip increase and repeat and referral business grow," Egbert told Avoya. "In addition, there are some great new itineraries and attractive incentives from both Avoya Travel and suppliers available for travelers to take advantage of."

While a majority of agencies expect growth across all leisure travel product segments— including escorted tours, all-inclusive resorts and contemporary and premium cruising—respondents are particularly high on river cruising and upper premium and luxury cruising heading into the 2018 Wave Season.

An encouraging 78 percent of independent agencies foresee sales increasing in those segments and attribute the rising demand to new inventory and quality promotions.

"Cruise lines are opening up new itineraries and delivering unique experiential travel options that appeal to a more diverse clientele," said Luxury Vacations LLC co-owner, Lisa Long, in a statement.

As for where travelers want to go in 2018, three-fourths of respondents agree that the highest demand will be for Alaska, Europe, the Caribbean and Hawaii. New ships are expected to boost Alaska's allure while agencies are confident across the board in the Caribbean's recovery from recent major hurricanes.

READ MORE: Have Your Best Wave Season Ever

"Avoya Travel is looking forward to 2018 Wave season and helping a growing number of Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network connect with customers ready to plan their next vacation," said Scott Koepf, Senior Vice President of Sales for Avoya Travel, in a statement.

"With more capacity in Alaska, new immersive travel experiences from river cruises and tours in Europe, new ships, and strong industry support for promoting the Caribbean, we expect lots of demand from customers in all travel segments."

Follow @_Pat_Clarke