How to book travel on Amazon for the Holidays
Travel agents have been struggling to stay afloat for the past year, but now they’re looking for ways to boost profits.
As of March 31, the top 10 travel agents in the US were all operating at a loss, according to the Travel Industry Association, a trade group representing the travel industry.
The group says there are now about 2.8 million travel agents, which is down from more than 6 million just two years ago.
“We’re seeing some of our older and smaller agents struggling to keep pace,” said Mark Bittman, the association’s executive director.
“They’re struggling to get the volume and the volume is just not there.”
The industry is also struggling to retain the younger agents.
According to the travel association, the average age of the agents in charge of bookings is 26.5 years old, up from 26.4 years ago, when the average was 26.2.
The industry has also seen an increase in the number of cancellations of bookers, with a total of 2.5 million bookings for travel this year, up 12% from last year.
Bittman says the number one reason for cancellations is the cost of travel, with agents and bookers increasingly struggling to recoup money.
“If you want to book a hotel, you’re going to have to pay a lot of money to get that hotel,” he said.
“It’s not just that the prices are so high now, but the costs are so much higher than they were a couple of years ago.”
Travelers are also more likely to leave their own hotel rooms to try to find somewhere else to stay.
“You know, it’s so hard to get a room at a hotel,” said one agent.
“I just feel like if I was to stay in a hotel and try to book that place, I might end up in a different room.”
According to Bittam, agents have also been struggling with the demand for their services.
“I think there are a lot more people wanting to book, because they’ve been so busy,” he explained.
“There are more places available to book than there were a year ago.
There are more people out there wanting to travel.”
Bittam said the increased demand for travel agents could also be a sign of things to come in the future.
“It could be that the agents are going to get better and better at their job, and they’ll start booking more,” he continued.
“Or maybe there’s just a bigger number of agents that are willing to do it.
That could be an indication that the industry will continue to grow.”
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