PHOTO: From left to right: John Lovell, Travel Leaders Network and Leisure Group President; Nicole Galowin, Travel  Leaders Network Senior Director of Member Services; Jose Ferreira, Travel Leaders Network and Leisure Group Chief Technology Officer; Roger Block, Travel Leaders Network President; Steve McGillivray, Travel Leaders Group Chief Marketing Officer. (Photo by Robin Amster)

Travel Leaders Network is predicting a strong year for travel based on a survey of its members who are reporting bookings equal to or higher than the same time last year.

The survey results were released at a New York City press conference during which Travel Leaders Network executives provided their insights on business performance and trends for the new year.

On Jan. 1, Travel Leaders Franchise Group (Travel Leaders Associates and Results! Travel) and Vacation.com completed their merger to become the Travel Leaders Network. The new entity represents nearly 7,000 agency locations in the U.S. and Canada with both Associate (franchisees) and Affiliate members.

“No one can predict terrorism and world events,” said Roger Block, president of Travel Leaders Network. “Zika is still out there but it’s not the issue it was 12 months ago and terrorism too is not the issue it was 12 months ago.

“Uncertainty is the worst thing we can have for discretionary expenditures [like travel], but year over year, 2017 is really looking to be one of the best years we’ve seen in many years.”

John Lovell, president of Travel Leaders Network and Leisure Group, said that based on survey data from more than 900 Travel Leaders Network members—an impressive response, he noted—83 percent reported their bookings have increased or are holding steady from this time in 2016.

Nearly 93 percent said year-over-year cruise bookings are higher than or on a par with last year; more than 81 percent said they are optimistic about 2017 while just over 15 percent were neither optimistic nor pessimistic.

For Mediterranean cruises, more than 84 percent said their bookings are equal to or higher than last year and just over 79 percent said the same for their European river cruise bookings.

Pent-up demand is responsible for the strong early bookings, according to Lovell. Bookings are up across the board—for mass market, premium and luxury cruises—with double digit increases, the highest of all segments, for luxury cruises, he said.

Pricing is also holding, according to Lovell, who added that Travel Leaders Network is looking at a 32 percent increase in cruise revenue year over year. “Wave season is off to a strong start,” he added.

In other predictions, Block said Travel Leaders Network anticipates an average 2 percent increase in airfares and an average mid-single digit increase in U.S. hotel rates this year. European hotel rates will increase slightly, he added.

Survey respondents said the top domestic destinations their clients are bookings for 2017 are Orlando, Maui, Las Vegas, Alaska cruises, and New York City. The top international destinations were Caribbean cruises, Cancun, Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Rome, and European river cruises.

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