Agents still rely on supplier commissions as main source of revenue
■ By purpose of trip, agents report that 70% of
their dollar volume is leisure, 23% business and 7%
combined business and leisure. Leisure represents a
slightly larger share of agents’ international sales, at
73%. In domestic markets, the mix is 68% leisure,
26% business and 6% combined.
■ By mode, air accounts for 31% of agency sales,
followed by cruises at 27% and tour and vacation
sales at 21%. Hotel sales account for 12% and car
rentals for 5%.
■ Despite airline commission cuts and the increased reliance on service fees, travel agencies remain heavily dependent on commissions from suppliers. For 74% of agencies, supplier commissions
represent 51% or more of total revenue, and 60%
of agents said commissions account for 75% of revenue. For the average agency, commissions are 73%
of revenue.
Sources of Revenue -
Travel Agency Business Mix
Combined
7%
Business
23%
Leisure
70%
Sources of Revenue -
Travel Agency Business Mix by Mode
Other
2%
Rail
2%
Tours
21%
Hotel
12%
Car rental
5%
Air
31%
Cruise
27%
In 2005, leisure travel still accounted for the lion’s
share of travel agents’ sales volume, at 70%.
Business bookings accounted for less than one
quarter. Some 7% of sales resulted from combined
leisure and business travel.
