A number of factors, but especially the accelerating rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, have converged in recent weeks and produced a bump in both inquiries and bookings for travel advisors and suppliers around the country.
And although the uptick in business hasn’t brought agencies close to levels seen prepandemic, there is widespread belief that the positive trajectory will continue, barring unexpected virus-related developments.
“Certainly, the vaccine has helped,” said Jim Strong, president of Strong Travel Services in Dallas. “Certainly, the lowering of cases [reported in media] has helped. Maybe you could even attribute it to the change in Washington; that is, the rhetoric is not so divisive. It’s just a whole slew of things that is leading everybody to a level of confidence, and that confidence is translating into travel.”
Strong does not expect his agency to hit pre-Covid levels of business until 2023, but growth has been steady of late. Today, he estimated, about 25% of Strong Travel’s clients are on the road. He anticipates that to increase between 3% to 5% each month moving forward.
Montecito Village Travel in Santa Barbara, Calif., has seen a “substantial” increase in business from January to February 2021, according to vice president of business development Connie Miller. She said the host agency saw invoices in its systems — a good indicator of bookings — increase 40% to 45% month over month, and finalized sales were up 25% to 30%. Air bookings were up 25%.
“2021 will still be a lean year based on how commissions are paid, but there is excitement from advisors getting back to the business they love,” she said.
Several of Montecito’s agents indicated that consumer sentiment toward travel shifted the last week of February. Angie Licea, president of Internova Travel Group’s Global Travel Collection division, has noticed a similar recent shift.
Licea said she was “uplifted” after that last week in February. She pointed specifically to Andrew Harper, whose bookings were three times that of any other recent week.
Suppliers are reporting similar patterns.
