Nearly 70% of Irish travel agents have experienced an increased level of bookings over the first half of this year, according to a survey conducted by representative group the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA).
The survey also notes that, while consumer confidence remains fragile, travel agents remain optimistic about business performance for the second half of the year.
Paul Hackett, President of the ITAA commented: “We are delighted that our members are experiencing a bounce back in the travel trade but we are unsurprised as it is what we are seeing on the ground. The survey results are very positive and it is wonderful to see our members optimistic for the rest of 2023.”
Each ITAA member agency responded that they had medium (56%) or high (44%) level of optimism.
In comparison to the same quarter in 2019, 16% of members reported increase in bookings by up to 10% with another 53% of members reporting booking increases of over 10%. 16% of members maintained the same level of bookings as the same quarter in 2019 and the remainder had a decrease in bookings.
Top destination countries included Spain, Portugal, France and Italy. Popular destinations included the Algarve, Canary Islands and Costa del Sol.
For corporate bookings, in comparison to the same period in 2019, 55% of agencies’ level of corporate bookings remained the same, 31% saw an increase and 14% saw a decline.
In total, 42% of agents attributed 60-80% of business to repeat customers. See table below.
