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Confirmation of curbed travel demand has arrived: For many travel agencies, 2022 is shaping up to be the best sales year yet, with forecast numbers overshadowing the pre-pandemic years.
At some agencies, sales have already surpassed 2019 totals, with a full quarter left in the year.
Some agencies experienced a jump in recovery last year, but growth has picked up this year as serious Covid cases recede and travelers are on the move eager to find new and rescheduled trips.
“In 2021, our sales were higher than in 2019,” says Geoff Hendren, owner of Bon Voyage Boutique Travel. About 25% from last year. This is an amazing year.
At Travel Experts in Raleigh, N.C., sales through August surpassed all 2019 sales. Total payments to independent contractors in the form of commissions increased 100% compared to 2019, said Executive Director Sharon Falk.
Sharon fake
Non-ARC commissions are up 150% for travel experts and airfares are up over 2019 levels, and that’s without much corporate travel.
Others are seeing similar patterns. In West Lake Hills, Texas, 2021 sales were 89 percent above 2019, and this year is on track to double 2021 levels, said founder and director Keith Walden.
Nadia Makarenko, senior vice-president of Toronto-based TravelEdge Network host agency, said the network’s sales have surpassed pre-pandemic sales by 10 percent this month and expect that percentage to continue growing.
KHM Travel Group, based in Brunswick, Ohio, forecast 2022 sales to exceed 2019, and Travel Planners International in Maitland, Fla., had a similar report. Jane Lee, vice president of industry engagement and support at Travel Planners, said this month the host agency surpassed the number of transactions it completed in 2019, and the agency is on track to surpass 2019 sales numbers by the end of October.
False believes that today’s sales increase is due to travel advisors being more selective about who they serve. She said they are selective about the clients they want to work with.
“It’s the usual 80/20 rule, and I think that’s something [advisors] Now they’ve got a whole new perspective,” Feck said.
High prices, high inflation
That’s clear in the numbers, too: Travel experts found that the number of transactions advisers are making is about the same as it was pre-Covid, but customers are spending more per trip, so the value of those transactions has increased.
Keith Walden
Inflation has increased over time as inflation has increased. But Walden points to a mix of reasons why customers are spending more: They stayed home during the early parts of the pandemic while dreaming of travel. Many trips from 2020 and 2021 have been moved to 2022. The rich have gotten richer over the past few years. Borders are constantly being opened.
A multi-generational journey is evolving.
There also seems to have been a change in mindset among customers over the past two years, consultants said.
“Covid has taught us that life is short and insecure, so suddenly there’s an urgency to complete dreams, bucket list trips,” Walden said.
Christie’s Peak
That’s a familiar phenomenon to Christy Peck, owner of Embrace the Journey Travel in Ennis, Texas. Sales at Peck Agency are expected to triple 2019 figures this year (2021 sales also beat 2019).
“I feel like they’re going to have a memory of missing out for at least the next few years after they lose the opportunity to travel,” Peck said.
Multigenerational travel has been a particularly big seller recently. Peek has noticed an increase in her business.
The Travel Edge Network has noted “significant growth” in multigenerational travel and family reunions. Makarenko’s category increased by 30% compared to 2019.
How long does the swelling last?
Justin Smith, founder and president of Evolution Travel in Beverly Hills, Calif., said sales are on the rise this year as well, but added that many of the projected numbers for 2022 are crossover trips from previous years.
Justin Smith
“I think it’s still a very fluid situation,” Smith said. “Even yesterday, a client canceled her trip to the UAE because she didn’t want to do PCR. Then you have interruptions like the pilot hitting Europe, the Queen’s passing and the funeral. Evolve it.”
“It’s very fluid,” he added. “We’ve got to get on with it. People are looking at that. They’re booking, but still looking a little sideways. ‘Okay, we’ll book this place and hope.’ The best.'”
The current demand level is Hendren predicts it will last through 2023 and possibly 2024.
Walden agreed. “I think this big growth will continue for at least a few more years as the world recovers from the pandemic and war and global hyperinflation,” he said.
“I think demand will peak going forward, which will be a relief to advisors and providers after the pace so far this year,” Smith said, “so everybody can catch their breath and really get back on their feet.”
But regardless of the current level of demand, the pandemic seems to have brought new clients who want to work with advisors. Hendren said about half of his business this year is coming from new clients who have never worked with a travel agent before.
“I think it’s because they need some help,” he said. “Things have changed, the world is a different place, and they don’t feel comfortable doing it themselves anymore.”
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