The first-ever virtual Virtuoso Travel Week kicked off this week with presentations, interviews, discussions, research and, of course, the consortia’s famous one-on-one appointments all moving online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The event, which is usually held in Las Vegas, is the highlight of the year for Virtuoso’s 22,000-plus travel advisors from 50 countries, which represent $30 billion in sales.
As part of the opening session at Virtuoso Travel Week, the consortium shared recent research highlights and major trends. Here are a few of the key takeaways.
- Not surprisingly, Virtuoso advisors’ revenue from March to July of this year is way down compared to last year, with the low point in April and some slight gains each month since then.
- When asked what best describes their current attitude, the majority (54%) of Virtuoso advisors in the U.S. and Canada say that they see this as “an opportunity to reimagine [their] industry,” and the next biggest group (43%) say that they are “concerned about [their] future/recovery will be slow.”
A majority (57%) also expect travel bookings to begin to recover in the next six months to a year.
- Surveys show indications of strong consumer demand, with 66% of Virtuoso customers saying they are now ready to get on an airplane.
When asked how far they are willing to travel if travel restrictions are lifted, 59% say they would be willing to take an international flight — with another 30% saying they would take a domestic flight.
RELATED: How Top Tour Operators Have Adapted to COVID-19
- The vast majority of advisors (84%) say that when booking international trips, flexible cancellation or rebooking policies is the most important factor for clients.
- Interestingly, while 48% of U.S. and Canadian advisors report that they are not getting any new bookings at this time, 35% of Virtuoso’s European advisors say they are getting new bookings for 2020.
This disparity shows the different realities faced by various parts of the world as everyone works through the pandemic at a different pace.
- One trend identified in the research is multifamily vacations replacing multigenerational trips. Virtuoso sees this change as a result of the growth of “travel pods,” which are defined as two or more households — whose members have been following coronavirus quarantine and social distancing practices — that make plans to vacation together.
Nearly eight in 10 Virtuoso clients (79%) say they would take part in a multifamily travel pod vacation.
- Another notable demographic trend is that younger travelers are more willing to travel now. According to Virtuoso’s survey, Generation Z is the most willing to travel, followed by roughly equal numbers of millennials and Generation X.
RELATED: An In-Depth Guide to Generation Z Travelers
- Virtuoso sees the holiday season as a strong opportunity for advisors, with 16% of customers saying they are ready to plan a holiday trip now and another 22% indicating that they expect to travel, but they will wait until it gets closer to book.
- Looking ahead, in a sign that cruising is not totally out of the question for travelers, 2021 cruise booking are outpacing 2018’s bookings.
- When looking at Virtuoso’s hotel data, three major trends emerge. First, research shows that most travelers are staying closer to home: Hotel bookings within 1,500 miles of home are up year over year (58% in the second quarter of 2019 versus 70% in the second quarter of 2020).
Next, clients are booking closer in (37% in 2019 and 43% in 2020).
Finally, while city hotels have taken a major dive this year, attributes such as adventure, golf, ski, seclusion and beach have all grown significantly in importance since last year. Wellness has remained steady year over year and is now the top attribute overall for hotels.
- The top “Wanderlist” (dream trip) international destinations for 2021 are (in order): South Africa, Italy, Australia, France and Japan.
Domestic destinations include California, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington and Montana.
The Details
Virtuoso
www.virtuoso.com
