Earlier this month, Signature Travel Network held its annual conference in Las Vegas, and much of the discussion centered around what the travel industry might expect to see in 2024. Many of the themes are similar to what we’re highlighting in our latest cover story. Despite strong sales numbers — in 2023 and looking forward to 2024 — there are some potential threats to the market that bear watching.
Major wars in different parts of the world, a murky economic outlook combined with stubbornly high prices and a traditional election year lull are all potential drags on travel. These “headwinds,” as Alex Sharpe, president and CEO of Signature, calls them, may be mild now, but it’s easy to imagine them upending the recent success of travel advisors.
“Business is still strong, and our members have all these great new tech tools and resources, but now we’re going to have to do more,” Sharpe said. “We’re going to have to market more. Bookings are not just going to walk in the door and the phone is not just going to ring on its own like it has these past couple of years. The world is going to get tougher again, but that’s what we’ve always responded to as an industry.”
Bookings are not just going to walk in the door and the phone is not just going to ring on its own like it has these past couple of years.
Sharpe points out that the last 12 months have not been “normal,” when it comes to new business.
“It’s been more like nirvana, from a revenue point of view,” he said. “Now we woke up and we’re back in the real world, and we’re going to have to roll with the punches.”
Sharpe emphasized that consumer demand for travel is still strong, but he’s right to suggest that advisors should not take this current market as a given. Demand is not static — it fluctuates based on a range of factors. The smart approach is for agents to enjoy the good times, while keeping one eye on the horizon and looking for signs of turbulence.
