The good news: Sales continue to grow for about half of travel advisors, according to the latest iteration of our “Travel Trends & Advisor Insight Report.” The less-good news: The number of advisors reporting improved sales year-over-year has dropped about 7 percentage points from the three 2023 surveys we ran.
In that same Q3 report, we learned that interest in cruising is way up among non-cruisers. They are typically interested in contemporary/family cruises and premium/upscale cruises. Additionally, travel advisors are intent on selling more luxury travel, as evident by the 80 percent of respondents who said so. Of this cohort, 23 percent say luxury travel sales make up just 1 to 5 percent of their business, while another 22 percent say luxury sales make up 40 or more percent of their business.
Looking to 2025
Looking toward next year, Fora released its “Hot List,” comprising the top trends it expects to proliferate in 2025. It also noted that high-end cruising is on the upswing—as is solo travel and travel to far-flung destinations. Fora also expects to see more hotel and lifestyle brand collaborations and continued investment to elevate airport lounges.
Travel Agent also took the opportunity at Dream Vacations and CruiseOne’s annual conference aboard Celebrity Ascent to ask attending advisors what their top priorities are for 2025. Some of the top responses we received were:
- Tapping into partner synergies
- Enhancing the customer experience
- Digging into new technology tools
- Build more relationships
Others said they were putting “luxury” as a priority, while other plans called for finding ways to stand out from the crowd, networking among fellow advisors and agency owners, and transitioning leadership roles.
Travel Advisor Tools
The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) has launched a new lead-generation platform that connects consumers with Verified Travel Advisors (VTAs). This VeriVacation platform allows travelers to find VTAs “who are committed to excellence and uphold their fiduciary responsibility to their clients on every trip they plan.” Any ASTA member who becomes a Verified Travel Advisor will have access to consumer leads beginning next year.
Separately, Bedsonline, part of the HBX Group, has unveiled its new loyalty program, Bedsonline Rewards. This new reward program, which will substitute the prior Star Rewards program in some markets, will integrate with Bedsonline's existing booking engine and will allow advisors to earn points for any of their purchases, whether it be accommodation, experiences or other products.
The program offers a range of rewards such as Amazon vouchers or other gift cards depending on the market. They can also opt for Bedsonline vouchers for future bookings, allowing them to reinvest their rewards directly back into their business.
On the Move
Pleasant Holidays’ Jack E. Richards has decided to retire and step down from his role as president and CEO effective January 31, 2025. David Hu will succeed Richards as the next president and CEO. Richards has spent his entire career, spanning 46 years in the travel industry, with tour operators, airlines and online travel companies. He has led Pleasant Holidays for over 17 years, growing the company from a Hawaii-centric organization to a global travel company providing vacation packages, cruises and travel related services to 84 countries worldwide.
In other news, Inside Travel Group announced that a newly created position on the U.S. trade team has been filled by Aaron Kuehn. Bringing over two decades of experience in the travel industry, Kuehn is poised to help expand the company’s business of tour packages in Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia as its new trade partnerships manager.
Prior to joining Inside Travel Group, Kuehn worked for Qatar Tourism and Rocky Mountaineer.
New Government Regulations to Note
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a rulemaking “to protect passengers stranded by airlines canceling or significantly changing their flights.” This rule would require airlines to pay passengers cash compensation, rebook them for free on the next available flight, and cover meals, overnight lodging and related transportation expenses when a disruption is airline-caused. This rulemaking follows on the launch of the DOT’s “Automatic Refund Rule,” which requires airlines to provide automatic cash refunds to passengers when owed.
In Mexico, the federal government announced a new tax on all cruise passengers arriving in the country—whether they disembark or not. This new $42 tax would, according to the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), mean cruise tourism in Mexico would suddenly become 213 percent more expensive than the average Caribbean port. To that point, the FCCA is urging Mexico to reconsider the measure in order to mitigate the potential economic fallout for the country’s coastal communities and the significant financial impact for cruise passengers.
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