USTOA Members Look to Travel Advisors for 2021 Recovery

In late November, the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) shared results from recent a survey they conducted of their active members: travel service providers, ground operators, common airline carriers and others interested in developing travel. The survey focused on post-pandemic recovery of the travel industry.

The survey found, among many things, that travel advisors remain a key distribution channel tour operators will rely on to generate sales in 2021. Of the tour operators who responded to the survey, 88% said they “plan to utilize travel advisors to generate sales as they resume business in 2021” and 80% said “travel advisors will play very important or important role in their business in 2021.” What does this mean for you and for the industry?

First, it means that the role of a travel advisor is still vital. Suppliers are looking to travel advisors to help get the industry back to normal (or whatever “normal” will look like) and there is so much opportunity for travel advisors to find the right tour operator partners to work with and establish strong relationships and product knowledge.

The survey’s findings about travel advisors also show that the industry is hopeful for the future. With new breakthroughs in COVID-19 vaccine research happening every day and airlines, resorts and other travel suppliers enacting new protocols designed to keep people safe, everyone is doing what they can to figure out how to move forward. It all looks very promising.

Other results from the survey include travel and destination trends. USTOA found that Italy, Ireland, Germany, Greece and the UK were the top international destinations that travelers are booking for 2021 travel. They also found that “half (50%) of members anticipate returning to Europe in the second quarter of next year, a third (33%) of which specifically said April 2021.” Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Utah and Wyoming were the top domestic destinations.

Here’s how the survey respondents ranked travel products for 2021 in terms of popularity:

1. Small group tours
2. Private groups
3. FIT
4. River cruising
5. Small ship cruising
6. Classic group tours (25+ passengers)

One last important finding from the survey is that respondents said safety and wellness “will have the strongest influence on consumers choosing a travel destination in 2021.” This is another reason why having close relationships with travel suppliers like tour operators will help advisors stay up-to-date on the suppliers’ safety protocols as well as the destinations they operate in.