Why 2025 is The Year of the Travel Agent
2025 has rightly been declared as ‘The Year of the Travel Agent’, by trade title, TTG.
As demand for travel remains strong across the UK with 33% of Brits planning to take more holidays than they did in 2024, consumers are looking to travel professionals to take care of their holiday needs. It was no surprise that ABTA found the portion of UK consumers booking through travel professionals increased to 38% in 2024, a four percentage point increase on the previous year, as reported in their 2024/25 Holiday Habits report.
As we near the end of the first month of ‘The Year of the Travel Agent’, let us explore how travellers are turning to this trusted community to help decipher and navigate the challenges presented to consumers and the industry at large.
A Time of Rapid Growth
Despite a difficult few years, the travel sector has charted a course for full recovery by 2025 with global tourism numbers expected to recover this year. The tourism sector now offers a significant amount of flexibility and more security with demand booming. This has spurred a huge interest in individuals joining homeworking businesses like Travel Counsellors and Not Just Travel. Travel Counsellors reported last year their membership base grew to over 2,000, with almost 300 new members joining in 2024 alone. This is a trend also reflected among smaller travel businesses like Aquilium Travel who revealed in summer 2024 their plans to double their membership base from 30 to 60 over the next 12 months. Generally speaking, more consumers are putting their trust in travel agents, as shown in the latest Barclays consumer spending report, with agents achieving the largest year-on-year increase in total transactions of all sectors monitored.
The dream of more flexibility by working for yourself has put homeworking businesses on the map. Moreover, the rise in homeworkers is strongly supported by consumer demand for a tailored service with flexibility and after-hours service. The expansion of home-working agents across the country has reaped the benefits with large consortia partners reporting outstanding employee satisfaction resulting in increased productivity and bookings. Following the implementation of new technologies combined with an increase in membership, Travel Counsellors reported annual bookings of £933 million last financial year, a 23% increase on the previous year.
Information Overload
We are more connected than ever with the world at our fingertips. In this digital age, it is easy to become overwhelmed by options, putting consumers at risk of choice paralysis. Even after honing in on a specific destination, there is still an overwhelming choice when it comes to where to stay and what to do. In this age of excess, consumers are actively searching for a trusted source to manage multi-option shopping and present tailored ideas in one convenient place.
According to TripAdvisor, more than 80% of holiday planning takes place 2-3 months before booking a trip. During the planning phase, a consumer makes an average of 38 visits to travel related sites in the 45 day lead-up to booking a holiday. It is clear that travel is a complex purchase. As digital advancements persist, it is likely the information available to us is only going to increase, therefore furthering the demand for travel professionals to break down the choices and offer the best options for a consumer.
An Ever-Changing World
The global pandemic threw the travel sector into chaos and the disruption that customers experienced has had a lasting impact on the way we choose to plan and book our holidays. It is clear that UK holidaymakers want reassurance and security when making travel plans. As consumers remain unwilling to compromise on their holidays, they are instead increasingly leaning towards trusted travel professionals when planning their trips for the year ahead, according to the Travel Weekly Insight Report 2024. This is a trend particularly prominent among the younger generation as young families and 18-24 year olds are the largest age groups seeking reassurance and booking through trusted agents.
Despite full recovery for the industry being on the horizon, travel disruptions in the future are inevitable. From natural disasters such as the LA wildfires, to industrial action from air traffic control strikes, travellers are increasingly aware of potential disturbances to their holiday plans. In response, travel professionals are able to pave the way for consumers, ensuring quality holiday experiences that are worth the spend, while providing reassurance they can navigate unexpected challenges along the way. ABTA reported that ‘reassurance for the consumer’ as a reason for booking through a travel agent increased to 43% in 2024 (up from 34% the previous year).
Helping You Reach The Trade
With more of us than ever seeking the services of a travel professional, it’s important that travel brands consider their strategy to reach agents, especially against the backdrop of a more regionally distributed workforce often based in their own homes. More travel brands are bolstering their travel teams to service homeworkers, including Stuba following recruitment of a new Business Development Manager to support agents in Scotland and the North and Kuoni, expanding their team with two new Trade Partnership Managers.
If you are also ready to kickstart your relationship with the travel trade in 2025, The PC Agency expert trade team can help. We will work to maximise your brand’s positioning among the travel trade including securing meetings with key decision makers at top UK tour operators, increasing reputability and visibility within the industry through stand out events and fam trips or supporting in educating the trade on your unique destination, hotel, or product offerings.
Get in touch with the team to discuss how we can help at trade@pc.agency.
