Most travel advisors expect to book more group travel this year than they did in 2023, according to recent research from TravelAge West, part of the Need to Know research series.
In a survey of more than 200 advisors, 55% say they expect to book more groups, and another 30% think their group business will be about the same. Only 2% expect less group business in 2024.
The majority of advisors expect to book more group travel in 2024
Credit: 2024 TravelAge West
“From 2022 to 2023, Key to the World Travel grew its group business by 51%, and I am optimistic for that same level of growth in 2024,” said Erin Jensen, vice president of groups and conventions for Key to the World Travel. “I have seen a growing interest from our agents in making 2024 the year they start or grow their groups business."
Every day, I meet with at least one of our agents to discuss where they might best begin or build their group bookings," she added. "Agents are seeing groups as a way to expand their business for years to come and groups are some of the best recurring business out there.”
Agents are seeing groups as a way to expand their business for years to come and groups are some of the best recurring business out there.
In addition, nearly three-quarters (74%) of advisors say that groups are spending more on travel than before the pandemic.
Most (74%) of respondents say groups are spending more now than pre-pandemic.
Credit: 2024 TravelAge WestJensen says this is especially true for groups who are traveling for “celebration travel,” which includes milestone birthdays, vow renewals, bachelorette parties and destination weddings.”
“[However], the types of groups that I am seeing that are more hesitant to spend more are corporate groups, including conferences and incentive trips, and youth groups, where lower costs are always the goal to allow more students to participate,” she said.
Most advisors (52%) consider group travel “very important” to their business, with another 40% saying it’s “somewhat important.” According to nearly two-thirds of respondents (62%), the average size of these groups is between 10 and 49 people, and most group trips are related to cruising (46%) with the next largest group being family vacations (20%).
The Caribbean is by far the top destination for groups (48%), followed by Europe (16%) and the U.S. (14%).
Interestingly, while a third (33%) of respondents currently work with affinity groups, 43% say they don’t work with these groups, but would like to.
Forty-three percent of advisors would like to begin booking themed affinity groups
Credit: 2024 TravelAge West“I try to encourage all of our advisors to try out an affinity group, and we discuss starting them from an activity or passion they are already involved in, as it is always easiest to get a group started from something an advisor already loves,” Jensen said. “I think the biggest hinderance from that number being 100% is a fear of doing a group, fear of the size or complexity of a group, or just fear of failure of the group in general.”
Advisors are split on whether they are receiving enough education about selling group travel — 40% say yes, while 34% say no.
They are also split on their concerns related to this niche — finding the right clients tops the list (38%), followed by high prices (25%), marketing (16%), handling trip logistics (12%) and working with suppliers (10%).
Need to Know Survey Series
“Need to Know” is a research series from TravelAge West that tracks the responses of travel advisors as they relate to various travel trends and topics. This survey recorded the responses of 238 advisors across the U.S. Click here to see more Need to Know stories.
