Most travel agencies haves seen revenues rebound or remain the same this year compared to last, according to an survey by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTAA).
“It is clear that improved performance data for the first quarter of 2010 is partially due to the weakness of 2009 revenue and transactions. Expectations were that 2010 would be a much stronger year than it has been,” said Chris Russo, ASTA president, adding:
“Some agencies remain confident that 2010 will finish well and are expecting profits in excess of 10 percent, although a significant percentage expect to make zero profit in 2010.”
The majority of agencies have seen either an increase in revenue or seen revenue remain the same when comparing first quarter 2010 with first quarter 2009. Over a third are still seeing decreases even when compared with a weak year like 2009, according to ASTA.
When looking only at corporate travel agencies, most agencies reported their revenue and transactions increased in the first quarter of 2010 over 2009. When compared to all agencies, corporate travel agencies have seen a larger increase in revenue or transactions. In the 2009 survey, they suffered the largest decreases and while they are looking stronger in 2010, they have the most to recover, ASTA said.
By David Wilkening
