About the Travel Industry Survey

FAs part of the 2024 Travel Industry Survey, Travel Weekly once again teamed up with its sister brand, travel research firm Phocuswright, to examine trends among travel agencies and travel advisors. UNITED STATES. The information presented in this report was obtained by distributing an online questionnaire to Travel Weekly. and TravelAge West subscribers as well as members of various consortia and host agencies, inviting them to participate in the research project.

The survey results were based on responses received by Phocuswright from 1,571 travel advisors who completed the questionnaire from August 9 to September 2. The report only used responses from those who are currently employed by a travel agency, are independent contractors for a travel agency. or are owners or managers of travel agencies.

These responses were analyzed to understand the current state of the travel agency landscape and examine industry trends. Since the sample is not representative of all travel agencies in the United States, the data is not statistically weighted.

We compare different groups of travel advisors in this report, and they are defined as:

• Traditional Travel Agents: Travel agency offices/retail stores and home-based retail travel agency employees.

• Independent Home Based Agents: Home-based independent contractors and fully independent home-based agencies.

ABOUT THE RESPONDENTS

The majority of advisors surveyed this year identify as travel advisors (49%), followed by travel agents (19%) and travel advisors (18%). Nearly two-thirds (63%) of advisors say they are home-based independent contractors/agency, while two in 10 work in an office or travel agency storefront, up from just 12% in 2023.

The majority of respondents (80%) identify as women; 55% are over 55 years old and 18% are 45 years old or younger.

When asked to describe their position, 53% of advisors identified themselves as owners or managers of travel agencies. Among self-employed people at home, 56% own or manage travel agencies. More than half of advisors have worked for an agency that has been in business for more than 20 years, while half of home-based agents have been operating from home for five years or less.

Travel Weekly did not conduct the 2020 travel industry survey. Therefore, some charts do not contain 2019 data.

CONTRIBUTORS

On the following pages, Travel Weekly editors offer analysis to help explain and break down the data found in the 2024 Travel Industry Survey.