Where are travelers going this fall?
Where are advisors’ clients headed in the fall and winter, and what kind of trips are they taking?
A Travel Weekly survey of a little over 200 agents found that cruises are the most popular types of travel for both the fall and the holiday season. FIT trips and tours and packages rounded out the most popular for the fall, and resort getaways and FITs were next most popular for the holiday season; visits to friends and relatives also got a number of mentions.
Most advisors reported their clients would take typical length trips of 1-2 weeks, and most are favoring international travel or a mix of international travel and domestic travel (though more clients plan to travel domestically over the holidays than in the fall).
As far as destinations, many of the usual suspects were reported by responding advisors.
In the fall, Europe and the Caribbean were by far the most popular destinations advisors reported in a write-in answer. Also popular were Canada, Mexico and Hawaii. Theme parks also got some mentions, as did Alaska, among a smattering of other destinations.
Over the holiday season, results were a little more mixed. Of course, warm-weather destinations like Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean made frequent appearances (“anywhere warm,” as one advisor put it). Some advisors reported booking ski trips for clients, and theme parks also got some nods.
We also asked survey-takers how busy they are right now with bookings compared to last year and years prior.
Compared with last year, the majority said they were significantly or moderately busier. Compared with prepandemic years, even more reported being significantly or moderately busier.
Finally, we asked if advisors were seeing any slowdown in client requests. The large majority of survey-takers said they haven’t. Of those who have, those who chose to elaborate generally attributed the slowdown to a few things: the high cost of travel, especially airfare, and the economy.
Luxe is a good place to be
Virtuoso recently released some data that seems to correlate with these results. Bookings are on the upswing for members of the luxury-focused consortium.
So, it would seem that as has proven true historically, high net worth individuals booking luxury travel are less likely to be put off travel plans by price or economic uncertainty.
It’s a good market to tap into, especially as Virtuoso predicts it is growing faster than expected.
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