Aito Specialist Travel Agents has reported a 12% rise in total sales made through Aito operators in 2024 compared with the previous year.
The agent arm of The Specialist Travel Association (Aito) said average booking values for Aito Agents had also increased by 6% year on year to £14,600 per booking.
The figures were announced at the Aito Agents’ 24th annual domestic conference and relate to 34 Aito operators which sell through agents and report their sales figures to Aito’s All Star scheme.
Aito Agents chair Gemma Antrobus said: “Sales of Aito agents through Aito operators are the highest since Covid. We had some really high single bookings.”
The increase in trade sales was revealed as Aito said it was finalising details of this year’s Famference trip, its fourth, for around 40 to 50 Aito agents and operators on June 5-8. This enables agents and operators to network in an informal environment while learning about a destination.
It follows a bumper year of agent events, which included Aito’s first Midseason Marketplace at the end of June; its first dedicated dinners for larger agency groups; and a new Christmas ‘cheese and wine’ get-together.
The events – which also include four spring dinners and four autumn dinners as well as the domestic and overseas conferences – are set to be repeated in 2025.
“Last year we held more events than ever before,” said Antrobus, who added: “We’ll repeat that in 2025 because these were all really well attended, particularly the Christmas gathering.”
In total, 49 Aito agents, 55 Aito operators and four affiliate partners attended the domestic conference at the Leonardo Hotel, Hinckley Island, Leicestershire at the weekend.
Aito agent panel
Antrobus said the atmosphere at the conference around trading was positive.
“People were really excited about 2025, everyone felt positive and upbeat,” she said, noting that word of mouth and Aito events were helping to attract more members to the association.
Last year new agent members included Inspire Europe and new operators included Magari Tours while Berry Travel; Travel with Kitts; Ama Waterways and Indus Experiences all returned to the organisation.
Antrobus is expecting agent members to increase further this year.
“I would expect that to grow through word of mouth and agents posting about Aito events on social media,” she said.
A networking marketplace of 33 appointments for each Aito agent with Aito suppliers was held as well as the All Stars & Excellence Awards, which recognise Aito Agents for their sales of Aito operators’ holidays and their engagement with Aito.
Winners included Designer Travel as the national agency of the year and Lusso as tour operator of the year.
Worldwide Escapes won the award for the agency with the highest average booking; Travelwise was the most improved travel agency; Traveller’s World Salisbury was awarded for receiving the most bookings for one branch; and Peakes Travel Elite was the travel agency shining star.
Individual awards included Claire Moore, Peakes Travel Elite, for the agent’s chair award; Natalie Bennett, Off Broadway Travel, as the travel agent shining star; and new travel agent shining star Shanai McIntosh, of Journeys à la Carte.
Aito’s domestic conference included a session on ‘Airlines Behaving Badly’ by Nick Parkinson, from Travlaw; and ‘Make Artificial Intelligence Work for your Business’ by Andy Headington, from Adido; plus Aito updates.
Excellence and All Star awards winners