Publisher’s
Message
Dear Travel Professional:
Five years after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S.
travel industry is poised to grow and prosper.
New opportunities abound across all segments
of the travel industry, even among the airlines,
where U.S. carriers are beginning to reap the benefits of their long struggle to return to
profitability.
And across all modes, a new generation of tech-
nologies and software tools is revolutionizing the
way industry firms communicate internally, with each other and
with suppliers and distribution networks.
It’s fair to say that more is happening in travel today, and hap-
pening faster, than ever before.
For retailers and the suppliers who depend on them, the chal-
lenge is not merely to keep up but to understand how world
events and market conditions affect the value
proposition of each and every business.
For nearly 50 years, our goal at Travel Weekly has been to deliver timely news and analysis
of industry events to help industry firms meet
that ongoing challenge. For more than 35 of
those years, we have been bringing our readers
periodic special issues based on commissioned
research into the characteristics of the U.S. travel agency market.
Welcome to this year’s installment, the 2006 Travel Weekly
Travel Industry Survey.
Our survey of U.S. travel agencies, again undertaken by CIC
Research of San Diego, presents updated findings on the charac-
teristics of the U.S. travel agency population, including nontra-
ditional retailers.
Continuing our research partnership with ASTA, we also fea-
ture the latest data on agent GDS and technology usage as well
as new research from ASTA’s NACTA subsidiary on the size and
scope of the growing population of work-at-home agents.
Travel has always been a growth industry, and it is our hope
that all of our industry participants have the opportunity to
participate in that growth and have the tools to prosper.
Sincerely,
Bob Sullivan
Vice President & Publisher
