The majority of Irish Travel Agents Association members have seen a rise in bookings this year compared to the first quarter of pre-pandemic 2019.
Despite reports suggesting Irish consumers remain cautious, a new Itaa survey shows that agents in the country are optimistic about business in 2023.
Each member 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 more than 10%.
Sixteen per cent maintained the same level of bookings, while 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 business travel, 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.
Itaa president Paul Hackett said: “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.”