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| Photo by Lindsay Clark |
Nearly 71 percent of Travel Leaders Group agents booking destination wedding/honeymoon travel indicate the average revenue for those bookings is higher than their typical leisure travel bookings, the group says based on data from its recent 2014 Travel Trends Survey.
They also note the “halo effect” of additional travel bookings is most significant in terms of “referrals from the family of the bride or groom” followed by “referrals from friends of the bride and groom” and “anniversary travel,” respectively.
The survey is based on 863 Travel Leaders Group owners, managers and frontline agents who sell destination weddings and honeymoon travel.
RELATED: Our Wedding Travel Forecast for 2014
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| Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben |
“Specializing in this particularly lucrative travel niche can reap significant benefits like higher revenue per booking and higher rates of referral business – this helps drive increased profitability for travel agents throughout our company,” said Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben.
“While our agents’ most popular honeymoon and destination wedding locales may mirror conventional wisdom, the lists clearly identifies where agents need to continue honing their skills and first-hand destination knowledge. New properties, resorts and opportunities emerge each year, so it’s imperative that our agents continue building relationships with key suppliers and destination contacts, along with regularly visiting these locations, to ensure additional business growth year over year,” Liben said.
“In November, at our Travel Leaders National Meeting, we announced details of a new, sweeping specialization program specific to honeymoon travel and destinations weddings,” said Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group. “Based on the findings from the Travel Leaders Group Survey, we’re definitely in tune with our agency community needs as this initiative will help these specialists further sharpen their focus on this lucrative piece of business.”
Desire to Increase Destination Wedding/Honeymoon Travel Business: Nearly 68 percent (67.7%) of Travel Leaders Group agents polled state they would like to increase the amount of destination wedding/honeymoon business they currently book, while 30.3 percent state they would like to maintain their current level of destination wedding/honeymoon business.
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Halo Effect: There is a “halo effect” – additional travel bookings – for those Travel Leaders Group agents and agencies booking honeymoon and/or destination wedding travel. When asked to identify the top types of bookings that are a result of destination wedding/honeymoon travel, the top responses are:
1. Referral business from Family of the bride/groom - 65.1%
2. Referral business from Friends of the bride/groom - 61.5%
3. Anniversary trip - 54.5%
4. Post trip booking(s) by the wedding couple for other leisure travel - 51.9%
5. Destination Wedding site selection/preview trip - 22.6%
Destination Wedding/ Honeymoon Travel is Lucrative: Of those Travel Leaders Group agents booking destination wedding and honeymoon travel, nearly 71 percent (70.7%) indicate the average revenue for those bookings is higher than their typical leisure travel booking. The breakdown of responses includes:
More than 30% - Higher 3.5%
20-30% - Higher 11.8%
10-20% - Higher 31.3%
0-10% - Higher 24.1%
About the same - 29.3%
When asked, “What is the average number of individuals whose travel you book for each Destination Wedding?” the largest percentage of Travel Leaders Group agents states “11-20 travelers.”
1-10 travelers - 33.0%
11-20 travelers - 38.9%
21-30 travelers - 19.3%
31-40 travelers - 5.6%
41-50 travelers - 2.2%
More than 50 travelers - 1.0%
Top Travel Destinations for Destination Weddings/Honeymoons
Travel Leaders Group agents were asked to identify the destination regions they are booking most for this segment of their business. They were able to select up to five destinations regions.
