Report finds US$10+ Million Travel Agencies a Growing Segment

A recent survey of ASTA members found that travel agencies with sales of between US$5 million and US$10 million make up the fastest growing segment of ASTA’s membership. In 1998, 7% of ASTA members reported sales volume in this category while in 2006, that figure rose to 10.1% for a 44.6% increase overall. The 2006 ASTA Agency Profile report also found that the number of agencies who reported sales volumes as being either between US$4 million and US$4.9 million or more than US$10 million has each grown by 24% during the same time period.

Another trend that revealed itself as a result of this study is that between 2000 and 2006, the sales mix of U.S. travel agencies has undergone a major shift. In 2000, agencies reported that 56.1% of their sales mix came from air sales. Six years later, that figure dropped by 56%, meaning that air sales made up only 24.7% of an agency’s overall sales mix. In contrast, sales of both cruises and tours saw a strong increase in percentage share, making up 26.2% and 31.3% of agency sales respectively in 2006.

The report also confirmed the growth of home-based travel agencies. In 2002, 7.3% of ASTA travel agencies defined themselves as being home-based. By 2006, that number rose to 17.4%. Correspondingly, agencies located on main streets and in strip malls fell by 6.3% and 2.4% respectively during the same time frame.

Other data of note includes:

- The average number of full-time employees is 8.1, although 42.6% of respondents reported having only between one and two employees.

- The average number of independent contractors (IC) is 8, although more than a third (35.6%) of travel agencies reported having no ICs.

- Eighty percent (80.1%) of ASTA agencies reported using an Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) identification number.

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