There are some striking findings in the 35th Travel Weekly Travel Industry Survey on the current environment for travel advisors. Full results will be published in the publication’s November 20 edition.
In a presentation with Ensemble president Michael Johnson at the consortia’s Horizons conference in Las Vegas, Editor in Chief Arnie Weissmann provided a sneak peek of the data. Research was conducted in conjunction with Phocuswright, and Ensemble members got an early summary as a sponsor.
Today’s travel advisor: Weissmann began by profiling the survey group: 57% are older than 55 and 80% are female. That doesn’t sound much different than past years, but when you look deeper there are signs of transformative change.
The research reveals a changing of the guard. About one-third of experienced travel agents have retired in the past few years, and 19% of survey respondents have been in the business for two years or less.
More seismic shifts: there’s been an influx of new advisors to the industry during and following the pandemic. Specifically, the survey revealed that more than one-third (36%) of advisors began selling travel in the past five years and 1 in 10 have been selling travel for less than a year.
“A lot of people saw opportunity in travel during the pandemic, which is kind of amazing,” said Weissmann.
Ensemble president Michael Johnson and Travel Weekly editor-in-chief Arnie Weissmann. (Photo Credit: Bruce Parkinson)
Today’s agency client: Nearly three-quarters of travel agency clients (72%) are over 40. 55% have a household income over $100,000. They take more trips per year, take longer trips and spend more money each day than the average traveller.
“This is why suppliers love this channel,” said Weissmann.
But while the survey found affluence among agency clients, the financial success reported by advisors looks less rosy. The survey found that it takes nearly 11 years for most advisors to achieve the median income of around $60k.
"That rattled me to my core,” Johnson said. “We shouldn’t need a threat like AI to come to terms with the fact that the economics of selling travel are a travesty. We have to do better. And that is our core focus at Ensemble.”
Johnson noted that 47% of Ensemble members still don’t charge service fees. For those that do, it represents an average of 12% of agency revenues. “Wouldn’t you want a 12% raise?” he said.
Johnson also noted that shopping on price alone represents a very small segment of Ensemble customers. “There’s absolutely an opportunity to charge for your work,” he said.
“These numbers reflect what we have seen within our membership and are the genesis for creating all of the new training and development programs we’ve launched in the past year,” Johnson added.
Ensemble in lights. (Photo Credit: Bruce Parkinson)
Other notable data points from the survey include:
· ICs and agencies account for 72% of the advisor population.
· All about relationships: Advisors are most likely to cite personal relationships, customer service and expertise as the main reasons clients book with them.
· Ocean cruises, all-inclusive resorts and air are the most booked products by advisors.
· Nearly three quarters of agency revenue comes from commissions/overrides.
· Facebook remains the most important social channel for travel agency clients.
In an interview with TravelPulse Canada, Ensemble Kristina Boyce emphasized the critical importance of data, research and reporting.
“Business intelligence at a macro level is profound. It’s so important. Where is our volume? Who are your clients? Who are your prospective clients? What’s the repeat plan? How far out are people booking and why? Data is so powerful when you get the full picture."
Topics From This Article to Explore
