New Travel Advisor Study Shows Pandemic-Related Struggles, Recovery

A new study of travel advisors and agents shows that while the industry took a major blow from the coronavirus pandemic, the road to recovery has already begun.

According to Travel Weekly’s 2021 Travel Industry Survey, domestic travel outsold international tourism for the first time in 17 years due to issues navigating the different border entry requirements and closures.

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As a result of border closures, cruise lines, tours and destination-focused travel all reported major drops in business, while domestic theme parks, resorts, vacation packages and luxury travel all reported signs of improvement this year.

“Although historical data shows many customary travel patterns return relatively soon after a crisis, I’m not sure the return to international travel dominance will be swift,” Travel Weekly Editor in Chief Arnie Weissmann said. “Many people who felt a vacation wasn’t a vacation unless it put a stamp into their passport discovered the appeal of modern travel within the U.S.”

The study also found the way advisors identify themselves has also changed, as 51 percent of respondents identified as an “advisor” instead of an “agent,” a massive jump from the just 11 percent who identified as advisors in 2018.

As for why advisors use host agencies, access to lead generation was listed as a main reason by 26 percent of agents in 2021, an increase from the 20 percent reported in 2019. Leisure travel also jumped from 84 percent of sales in 2018 to 91 percent in 2020.

Travel advisors said the top three factors impacting revenue were the pandemic, government policies on travel and immigration, and airport hassles and delays. Traditional agencies also reported an income decline, with 67 percent reporting revenue under $1 million.

Home-based independent agencies saw their average revenue fall from $899,000 in 2018 to just $346,000 last year, erasing several years of marked progress. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said that during the pandemic, they watched expenses more carefully, while 34 percent cut their marketing budget and 34 percent developed a new or different business plan.

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