Today, the American Society of Travel Advisors presented its Travel Industry Forecast at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. A record number of ASTA members are on-site — 235 travel advisors from 47 states — for tomorrow’s ASTA Legislative Day, when the organization and its members will lobby members of Congress about pressing issues affecting the travel industry.
During the session, Zane Kerby, president and CEO of ASTA, presented new member research that reveals how much travelers are spending, how inflation is affecting travel demand and more.
Travelers Are Spending More — Despite Inflation
While inflation is a top concern for advisors, travelers are spending 11% more on travel this year — with average spend, per person, per day averaging at $519 — compared to 2019, when average spend was $463 per person, per day.
“The desire to go and see and do is endemic to the human spirit, and depriving people of that privilege only made them want it more,” Kerby said during the presentation.
The desire to go and see and do is endemic to the human spirit, and depriving people of that privilege only made them want it more.
In fact, clients are spending more on travel than anything else, with the average family of four shelling out $200 more per day to travel than they did in 2019.
Flight Cancellations and Delays Are a Problem — But Travel Demand Is Surging
Kerby also addressed the record number of flight cancellations and delays, and how it illustrates that travel demand is outpacing the supply of transportation.
He acknowledged that the reasons are complicated, but that air partners must provide more notice when cabin crew and equipment are not available.
Consumers’ need for travel has caused them to absorb the travel cost. Consumers are sacrificing in other places in their lives in order to travel.
“Post-pandemic, travel is poised for staggering growth,” he said. “Consumers’ need for travel has caused them to absorb the travel cost. Travel’s aggregate demand is still rising at double- digit rates. Consumers are sacrificing in other places in their lives in order to travel.”
Lifting the Inbound Testing Rule Is Creating More Demand
Fueling the strong desire to travel is the recent lifting of the inbound testing requirement, something that ASTA strongly advocated for.
“If you listened closely, you could hear a collective sigh from the travel advisor community and many travelers everywhere,” Kerby said.
Most travel advisors (82%) say that travelers are more likely to travel abroad now that the testing requirement has ended.
Top destinations for these vacationers include Western Europe and the Caribbean, as well as Hawaii, French Polynesia and South America.
Awareness About the Value of the Travel Advisor Is Up — And Advisors Need Government Support
Kerby finished his remarks by saying that the pandemic has shown the public that they are not travel professionals themselves.
“A growing number of the traveling public understands the need for travel advisors,” he said, adding that nearly half of the American public (45%) say that using an advisor would help put their mind at ease.
When the government regulations crafted and implemented in the name of public health simultaneously destroy an industry’s livelihood, there is a moral obligation for the government to provide aid until restrictions are lifted and normal travel patterns emerge.
ASTA’s members are the kind of “earnest and hardworking” people that politicians say they run for office to help, Kerby added.
He said that the survey shows that the public is “with” travel advisors — with 62% of Americans believing that when governments put restrictions on businesses that sell travel, the government has a responsibility to make those businesses whole.
“When the government regulations crafted and implemented in the name of public health simultaneously destroy an industry’s livelihood, there is a moral obligation for the government to provide aid until restrictions are lifted and normal travel patterns emerge,” Kerby said.
