Marc Kazlauskas of Insight Vacations says this is “year of the agent” at the ATME Travel Industry Forecast Forum in New York City.
“We expect to see a renaissance of the traditional agent this year,” he said, noting that so far in 2010, Insight is having a far better year than might have been expected after a dismal 2009. He added;
“We’re up 35 to 40 percent from last year already. So now we’re comparing our sales not to 2009 but to 2007 and 2008, which were banner years in the industry.”
Kazlauskas pointed to several factors for this increase, but the primary reason, he said, is “pent-up demand.”
“Our biggest segment is baby boomers, a lot of whom didn’t go on vacation last year,” he said.
“But now a year has gone by, and they find that they still have jobs, or their 401(k)s are coming back, and they’re ready to travel.”
Also playing into the increase in sales is that prices have dropped (Insight’s own prices are down around 3 percent) and the exchange rate is relatively stable.
By David Wilkening
