Aussie travel agencies are busy. We hear that a lot. But that narrative is the same in the US, where travel advisors are experiencing all-time high airfare bookings.
According to recent Airlines Reporting Corp (ARC) data, American travel agency ticket sales totalled a whopping US$9.6 billion (AU$14.3 billion) in March 2023 alone, which was the largest monthly total recorded by ARC … ever.
A 22 per cent year-on-year increase, the figure also represented the second straight month agency air sales topped pre-pandemic levels.
That’ll put a smile on the faces of airline executives not just in the US, but globally. And if that extra demand in the world’s second-biggest aviation market has a positive impact on international capacity, it might also put a smile on the faces of US-bound Aussie travellers, who could see fares decrease between Australia and the States. US carriers have already been upping services to Australia and New Zealand.
Double-digit growth
In the US, March 2023 sales were boosted by a “robust increase” in international travel demand.
Compared to February, total travel agency air ticket sales grew by 15 per cent, total passenger trips rose by 15 per cent, and international trips increased by 14 per cent.
Total passenger trips settled by ARC in March increased four per cent year-over-year to 25.8 million, while international trips increased by 17 per cent.
In March, the average domestic US return airfare was US$559, a four per cent increase from the previous year (US$540) but a two per cent decrease from February (US$571).
Data was based on monthly sales figures ending 31 March 2023, from 10,444 US retail and corporate travel agencies.
“ARC’s air travel ticket data supports what we’re hearing from airlines regarding strong [northern] spring and summer demand for both corporate and leisure travel,” ARC chief commercial officer Steve Solomon said.
“A larger portion of the summer demand is for top European destinations like London, Paris and Rome, which are showing significant year-over-year increases in air travel ticket purchases from US travellers.”
ARC is a travel intelligence company that possesses “the world’s largest, most comprehensive global airline ticket dataset, including more than 15 billion passenger flights representing 490 airlines and 230 countries and territories”.
More good news
According to the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) – the US equivalent of AFTA – 50 per cent of Americans say they are more likely to use a travel advisor than they were in the past, “a trend that continues as Americans list travel as their top discretionary spend”.
This week, almost 1,000 travel advisors, suppliers and industry professionals gathered in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the 2023 ASTA Global Convention, which also recognised Global Travel Advisor Day on 3 May.
“The overarching message of this convention has been that our organization and our wider industry are in an incredible position of strength – that is a credit to our staff, board, members and supplier partners,” ASTA President and CEO Zane Kerby said.
“We’re pleased to use the occasion of our annual convention to celebrate the many in our community who selflessly invest their time and their efforts in support of the entire industry.”
