If you had to sum up 2024 in travel, I think it’s fair to say that it was the year we finally moved on from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “revenge travel” phase has petered out, and the industry is starting to look more normal again. That’s not to say that 2024 has been a down year — by most counts, this has been another boom year for travel — but throughout the marketplace we are seeing less-aggressive growth and fewer massive swings toward record bookings.
And that’s OK. The importance of travel is now cemented into our collective conscience, and the critical role of the travel advisor has been bolstered by all the headaches travelers have experienced over the past several years. It’s time for us to celebrate travel once again, without an asterisk. (Personally, I’m looking forward to comparing year-over-year stats, instead of going back to see how it was in 2019.)
You have all earned an opportunity to take a step back, exhale and acknowledge your achievements — at least until January.
