Travel advisors tips

In honor of Global Travel Advisor Day, coming up on May 1, Riviera River Cruises is rolling out a series of booking incentives throughout the entire month of May.

Life is unpredictable. 

Leading luxury small-ship cruise line Aqua Expeditions has just unveiled its new, cutting-edge website, complete with a dedicated portal tailored specifically for travel advisors. With its redesign and features architecture informed by extensive user experience studies, the revamped website is both visually captivating and intuitively navigable.

WHY IT RATES: The partnership is an industry-first for a host agency and travel supplier to award ASTA scholarships. — Lacey Pfalz, Associate Writer, TravelPulse

Luxury villa company Rental Escapes is celebrating Travel Advisor Appreciation Month with a bonus commission of up to $5,000 for eligible bookings made by travel advisors throughout the month of May. 

Windstar Cruises is rolling out new perks to say “thank you” to travel advisors.

Global Travel Advisor Day. (Photo Credit: Northstar Travel Group)

WHY IT RATES: Individuals interested in attending the marquee event will have to join the waitlist now.—Patrick Clarke, TravelPulse Senior Editor

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) is celebrating Global Travel Advisor Day ahead of May 1 by giving away a handful of exciting prizes.During ASTA's social media contest, advisors can win a set of two roundtrip tickets on Southwest Airlines, registration for the sold-out 2025 River Cruise Expo on Vienna, Austria and a grand prize of a four-night stay at the new Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Resort.

WHY IT RATES:  The luxury tour operator is ensuring that groups booking private group travel get the attention they deserve. — Lacey Pfalz, Associate Writer, TravelPulse

February air ticket sales totaled a record $8.9 billion in February for U.S. travel agencies, a figure that is 6 percent higher the same time last year.This February’s staggering air ticket sales also represent the second straight month that agency sales hit such highs, according to Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC).“Americans continue to prioritize domestic travel in the early part of the year, with year-over-year trips to U.S. destinations outpacing those of international trips,” said Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC, said in a statement. “Airlines are seeing robust demand from both corporate and leisure travelers, signaling the continued health and anticipated growth in air travel for 2024.”February ancillary sales increased 34 percent year over year to $29 million, while ancillary transactions increased 47 percent to 476,633 over the same period.The ticket sales results are based on monthly sales data ending February 29, 2024, according to ARC.The information was gathered from 10,367 U.S. retail and corporate travel agency locations, satellite ticket printing offices and online travel agencies. The results, however, do not include sales of tickets purchased directly from airlines.Additional highlights from the latest ARC report include:

G Adventures, the world's largest privately owned small-group adventure travel company, has just announced the imminent return of last year’s GX Community Tourism Summit in 2024, to be hosted in conjunction with its non-profit partner, Planeterra, in the vibrant destination of India.

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) announced that its 2025 River Cruise Expo in Vienna, Austria next March has sold out.The news comes just two days after ASTA announced Vienna as the host city for the fourth annual event on March 12-15, 2025. A total of 1,500 attendees registered for next year's River Cruise Expo.ASTA is currently working to secure additional ships to participate in next year's expo to meet the demand. If successful and inventory is expanded, the organization plans to open spaces to individuals registered for the wait list in the order their name was added.Advisors can add their names to the list here."We are thrilled by the response to this unique event. We are even more excited to see advisors experiencing immediate ROI from attending," said Sarah Little, VP of Business Development at ASTA."Many of them have secured client bookings because of their social media posts while onsite. We are committed to creating more events that boost knowledge, relationships, and profitability."

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) continues to push back against American Airlines' controversial New Distribution Capability (NDC) rollout.On Monday, the Alexandria, Virginia-based organization launched a weeklong ad campaign in POLITICO magazine in hopes of influencing lawmakers in Washington, D.C.Beginning May 1, American will stop awarding AAdvantage miles and loyalty accrual points through agencies unless they are deemed "preferred," a status achieved by having a 2024 incentive agreement with the airline or by booking through American NDC channels and reaching progressive sales thresholds of 30 percent by April 21, 50 percent by October 31 and 70 percent by April 30, 2025."This latest development doubles down on American Airlines' clear agenda since last year to force the travel agency industry to adopt immature technology, monopolize distribution channels, and squeeze channel partners and customers for cost-cutting and profit," ASTA stated.Additionally, ASTA is offering a toolkit for travel advisors to reach out to their congressional representatives. The organization is also encouraging members to send their clients to SaveMyMiles.com to take action."Tell them to stop AA from disenfranchising customers who book through travel agencies by telling Congress—don’t let American Airlines eliminate consumer choice," says ASTA.

Luxury tour operator Black Tomato has unveiled a new small-group tour travel product, “See You In The Moment.” Black Tomato has seen a 35% increase in demand for group-oriented itineraries since 2019, especially for multi-gen families or large groups of friends, according to Tom Marchant, co-founder of Black Tomato.

Deploying travel advisors with zero travel booking experience sounds like a bad idea. But travel agency Fora believes it is leveling the playing field for individuals passionate about travel to earn extra income by planning and booking trips.  

While not a new concept, tapping into travelers’ streaming habits is becoming an even larger creative catalyst that is enabling travel businesses to offer a unique proposition for travelers, especially in an age of experiences-driven travel.

While veteran travel advisors with decades of experience continue to dominate the U.S. travel agency workplace, the industry is showing positive growth when it comes to new agencies and advisors, according to “The U.S. Travel Agency Landscape 2022,” a report prepared for Allianz Partners by Travel Weekly in partnership with Phocuswright. 

Embedded in the living memory of many travel advisors from Tallahassee to Timbuktu is a time when the height of technology was a fax machine and an electric pencil sharpener. “To say we’ve come a long way is an understatement,” says Brenda Ajay of Allegro Luxury Vacations & Magic Family Travel, based in Altoona, Pa. “Today’s tech tools have made our jobs so much easier, helping us in ways such as allowing all sorts of comprehensive customer data to be at our fingertips when we need it.” 

Superior service. Comfortable seats. Tastier meals. Better entertainment. The appeal of flying in the front of the cabin is easy to understand. And savvy travel advisors know how to make selling first and business class an integral part of their services.

In the not-too-distant past, sustainability was likely a blip on most air travelers’ radar screen. But fast-forward to today, and for many, it’s a major consideration when booking flights — one that’s driving new initiatives undertaken by airlines and travel advisors alike.