Aito, The Specialist Travel Association says surveys conducted among members and their clients show business is ‘booming’ and most expect volumes to increase over the coming 12 months.
Martyn Sumners, Aito executive director, said: “The latest Business Confidence Tracker sees Aito specialist tour operators and travel agents in a bullish mood as they work through 2023 and into 2024.
“The SME travel industry is booming, with members reporting turnover up 95% in Q4 of 2022 and 83% up in Q1 in 2023.
“This is very encouraging considering how challenging the last 12 months have been, with 84% reporting operational difficulties – airline cancellations and entry requirements being their biggest problems, followed by recruitment and coping with demand.
“The next 12 months are equally encouraging, with 74% of Aito companies expecting to be up in terms of volume, and 21% anticipating the same volumes as at present.
“Operational challenges are predicted to reduce – but with recruitment becoming a still bigger challenge.
“All destinations are set to grow, with 21% predicting domestic business will increase, while 64% and 78% respectively are predicting growth in both the short-haul and long-haul sectors.”
He said the tracker findings were supported by the latest Consumer Travel Insights survey from more than 14,000 Aito clients – who have given Aito members a “world-class” Net Promoter (NPS) score of 70.
“This is borne out by satisfaction levels of over 90% and figures reflecting excellent customer service and value for money at high 80% levels,” said Sumners.
“Some 94% of consumers do not believe their finances will be adversely affected over the next 12 months, and the majority of those are prepared to pay more for a better experience.
“Furthermore, 88% want to do business with someone they can talk to for expert advice/guidance, which is great news for Aito’s specialist SMEs.
“It is clear from both sets of results that the typical specialist Aito tour operator, specialist travel agent and their clients are very well aligned in terms of the way that they are thinking.
“Our members sell the types of holiday that consumers are seeking and offer the highly personalised service and expertise that Aito clients seek.
“It’s very much a win-win scenario, we are happy to report.”