Travel Weekly - 2009 Travel Industry Survey

60%

Figure 4

Revenue sources, domestic/international mix

Figure 5

Revenue sources, 2009

Domestic

International

56%

Hotel

10%

Inclusive resort

14% Tour 11%

52%
48%

Cruise 35%

44%

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 60%

43%

57%

45%

55%

47%

53%

47%

49%

53% 51%

53%

Air 24% Car rental 4% Rail 2%

2003

40% 40%

0

years, the mix tends to move more toward business as agency size increases, even among home-based agencies.

• International travel as a percentage of travel agency sales has been rising consistently for several years, and resumed its upward trend after a brief lull (Figure 4). Agents report the split was nearly 50-50 in 2008; it was 60-40 a mere five years previously. The trend likely reflects the diminishing role of domestic airline sales in the agency business mix and a greater emphasis by agents on international travel, which generally tends to be more lucrative. It also il-

lustrates a possible tendency among consumers to consult travel agents more for international than domestic trips.

• Among brick-and-mortar agencies, the domestic/international mix does not vary greatly with agency size. Among home-based agents, however, the smallest tend to be more heavily domestic, while the largest tend to be tilted toward international business (Figure 6).

• Sales to individuals account for 83% of leisure sales, and the business is about evenly divided between those traveling independently and those traveling on tours

and packages (Figure 7). Groups account for the remaining 17% of leisure sales. These percentages are relatively unchanged over the past few years.

• The leisure product mix tends to change with agency size (also Figure 7). The largest traditional agencies tend to handle more independent travelers and fewer buyers of tours and packages. The pattern among home-based agents is less clear, but across both types of agencies of all sizes, the proportion of group business shows little variation. Notably, the smallest home-based operations do the highest percentage of their business with individual travelers on domestic trips.