By Michael Baginski/ The sky may be falling, but that isn’t stopping travellers from taking flight, according to Travel Leaders Network. And that is the best reason for confidence in a world where everyone always seems to be heading into the wind.
“We all work in a very interesting industry, because if you read the press and watch cable news, the world is falling and industry is collapsing and we’re going to have a problem – and then you get into the travel world and the numbers say something incredibly different,” said TLN Network president Lindsay Pearlman at a recent press gathering in Toronto.
Pointing to a US$5 trillion industry in 2024 that is projected to triple to $15 trillion in 2040 (according to the Boston Consulting Group), Pearlman states, “That runs an average growth rate of anywhere from eight to 10% annually. That is just a huge number. So, for those who say travel is going the other way, it’s the exactly opposite.”
And, as for travel advisors, they have been defying a surmised demise already for years, he says.
“I remember from the Obama days when he said (travel) advisors and bank tellers are dead… and (today we) can’t find staff.”
The latest perceived threat, of course, is from artificial intelligence.
But Pearlman maintains “AI is a tool. It’s a tool that needs to be used by a person. If they’re using it effectively, that makes them more efficient. And as we all know, often it’s wrong. It sounds great telling you it’s wrong, but it’s wrong.”
He qualifies that while he doesn’t believe AI is competition for any particular agent, another agent who knows how to use AI is.
At the same time, Pearlman believes travel advisors are being recognized by clients as more valuable than ever.
“Travellers are looking for reassurances, and for expertise. I think that travellers are looking for help if things go wrong,” he says. “And the way things work today, it’s not a matter if something will go wrong on the trip, it’s a matter of when something goes wrong.”
He adds that travel buying patterns during recent years have followed a predictable sequence following outstanding geopolitical events: bookings come to “a grinding halt,” they remain flat for a couple of weeks; prices ultimately drop; people’s memories are shortened; and normal booking patterns return.
However, the difference today is that “when there’s a geopolitical event, people don’t stop booking – they just book elsewhere; they shift. And what the advisor needs is to be aware of that and be flexible to that and assist the traveller when things are going on.”
As for where – and how – clients are travelling these days, Pearlman maintains that “luxury is the buzzword,” observing, “In 2008, during the economic crash, people had money but they didn’t travel. Now people aren’t afraid to spend the money to travel. And the better stuff is selling further out.”
Also trending is solo and experiential travel, and cruising.
Top destinations for North American clients are the Caribbean, Europe, and Alaska, with Pearlman quipping that some people forget that the latter is part of the U.S., where travel is down 30% out of Canada. Amongst Canadians, the top three hotspots remain Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba.
TLN VP Canada Christine James noted that Europe is also booming, with fears of capacity issues in 2026, prompting her to warn, “Book now.”
One sector Pearlman wishes (some) agents would more fully embrace is air, lamenting, “We hear of travel advisors getting a booking and sending clients somewhere else for air.”
But by booking flights – for which TLN introduced the SNAP air booking functionality last summer – agents not only earn additional commission, but increase client loyalty.
“We’ve put a ton of money into SNAP, because we truly believe that travel advisors should be selling air to their customers,” says Pearlman. “If an advisor is booking all components of a trip, that loyalty factor is up substantially.”
With some 5,700 travel agency locations across the U.S. and Canada, Travel Leaders Network is North America’s largest network of professional travel agencies with 100,000 travel advisors.
If you enjoyed or found this story useful, we’d appreciate if you would forward it to a colleague or friend who may also enjoy it. If, on the other hand, a friend shared it with you, welcome! You can get all the latest travel news and reviews from Travel Industry by simply clicking HERE.