Travel Agent Interest Surge Expected in Post-Pandemic Family Travel
Photo Credit: Families are more likely to book a trip utilizing a travel agent coming out of the pandemic than they were in prior years (pictured: Disney World). Wikimedia / Jrobertiko
Skift Take
Don’t discount the need for travel agents in the future of travel. Two recent surveys show Americans increasingly want to utilize a travel advisor’s services for post-pandemic vacationing.
Travel behaviors across all segments of the market shifted during the pandemic, but one change with family travelers is good news for the travel advisor market.
The 2021 U.S. Family Travel Survey conducted by the Family Travel Association in partnership with New York University’s School of Professional Studies outlines the various impacts of the pandemic on family travel behaviors. Some of the emerging trends may sound similar: Domestic travel demand, especially to outdoor destinations, significantly outweighs international travel demand.
But a massive surge in interest toward making trip plans through a travel agent is one of the leading findings through the survey.
“The people who actually work with travel agents still tend to be in the minority, but an ever-increasing number of people are saying that they would consider using a travel advisor going forward,” Lynn Minnaert, a clinical associate professor at NYU’s Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, told Skift ah
