Will 2024 be an even better year for the travel agency community than 2023?
For many, the answer already seems to be "yes," with strong bookings for 2024 and activity already for travel in 2025. It's a promising outlook, especially as 2023 was the best year on record for a number of agencies.
At Toronto-based Travel Edge Network, for instance, senior vice president Nadiya Makarenko said the host agency is already surpassing goals for 2024. She called it "another very significant growth" year.
That's helped by the fact that the network focuses largely on luxury sales. The average price of an itinerary, Makarenko said, is about 30% higher in 2023 than it was in previous years.
As Lauren Doyle, president of the Travel Mechanic in Raleigh, N.C., put it, "Travel is expensive."
"I think as advisors, we have to share with our consumers that it is pricey, but we can still make it happen, especially if you plan ahead," Doyle said. "It gives you a better opportunity to budget your travel dollars."
It also offers advisors another channel in which to share their value proposition with clients.
The tactic seems to be working: Doyle said she has a number of clients booked for 2025 already.
Of course, there are uncertainties and instabilities in the world. With high-profile conflicts raging in Ukraine and the Middle East and the possibility of black swan events, there is always the possibility of a chilling effect on travel.
But, Ensemble president Michael Johnson argued, "There are so many other places that people go that are welcoming, that are great destinations with great people."
Another 2024 (or beyond) trend: Booking windows that were once shorter as a result of Covid uncertainty have lengthened, said American Express Travel's president Audrey Hendley.
In 2024, try a destination 'dupe'
Advisors may also consider sending clients to alternative destinations because of overcrowding. This summer again saw swarms of tourists crowding Europe, echoing the summer of 2021.
American Express Travel (No. 7 on Travel Weekly's 2023 Power List) is encouraging customers to pick "off-the-beaten-path" destinations in 2024. For instance: Instead of Amalfi in Italy, try Cervo. A fan of Istanbul? Head to Bodrum.
The agency's 2023 Global Travel Trends report, conducted earlier this year, found that 89% of respondents wanted to visit somewhere they've never been.
"Our travel consultants are really working hard to listen to what customers want, to offer alternatives, to give people tips and to make sure that they're locking in the destinations and vacations they want to experience well in advance," said Hendley.
Expedia Group has dubbed "destination dupes" one of its trends for the coming year: Replacing a popular destination with an alternative to save money and enjoy similarly delightful experiences with less crowding.
A few of the dupes: Taipei, Taiwan, instead of Seoul, South Korea; Paros instead of Santorini in Greece; and Liverpool instead of London in England. All have seen a "notable uptick" in searches in the past year, Expedia said.
But whether the traveling public is impacted by pricing, world events or something entirely different, the appetite to travel does seem insatiable.
"I think it's cliche, sometimes, for us to say we always get through it, but the reality is we do," said John Van den Heuvel, president of Corporate Traveler USA. "There's always world events that happen and impact the market and impact travel, but we always rebound; and people are always back on the road traveling."