Travel Leaders Group executives and industry experts have gathered in New York City to review the travel trends and issues that shaped the last decade, and to forecast what the next decade holds.

“In 2008, industry experts said travel agents were dinosaurs, on their way to becoming extinct, and were going to be put out of business by the Internet and the do-it-yourselfers,” CEO JD O’Hara commented. “But at Travel Leaders Group, we understood that our clients relied on their advisors and that we were not in the same business as online travel agencies. We knew that, as the complexity of the travel marketplace grew, this was a distribution channel that had tremendous potential for growth.”

Trends across the last decade heralded the rise of the travel advisor:

• Technology and an explosion of information expanded the boundaries of travel.
• Social media, influencers and FOMO (fear of missing out) broadened people’s horizons.
• Ride-sharing and home-sharing apps spurred travellers’ sense of adventure.
• Travellers’ quests for authenticity and experiences spurred trends like culinary travel and a new definition of luxury travel.
• Families sought new adventures to bring them together.

“In 2008, industry experts said travel agents were dinosaurs”

Travel Leaders Group’s experts predicted that in the next decade, travel and the role of the travel advisor will expand:

• Travellers will seek hyper-personalization and self-fulfilment through travel.
• The company’s 2020 Travel Trends survey of 2,000 consumers indicated they plan to travel more and spend more this year.
• The number of Americans with passports hit a record high: In 1990, only 4%of Americans had one. Last year, the number reached more than 42%.
• Industry and Travel Leaders Group’s research show that the more complex and expensive the trip is, the more likely people are to use a travel advisor.
• Travel agencies book 75% of all US international travel.

“We are tremendously optimistic about the long-term prospects for our company, especially if we stay focused on our key three tenets: provide the highest quality support and tools to the travel advisor, impeccable service to the traveller and unsurpassed value to preferred supplier partners,” added O’Hara.