2024 Alaska (71%) and Hawaii (70%) are the top U.S. destinations sold while the U.S., Caribbean and The Bahamas, and Europe are top draws overall at over 80% each. Nearly 30% of advisors said that they sell, or plan to sell, cruise vacations in 2024. All-inclusive vacations were also popular with 17% of advisors saying they plan to sell them in 2024. Ocean cruises remains the most popular cruise product, accounting for 70% of total cruise sales in 2023. Nearly one in three advisors said that they plan to sell river cruise vacations in the coming year. While couples, seniors, multi-generation families and empty nesters remain top clients, 90% of advisors said that they also plan to sell vacations to affinity groups in the next 24 months. One in two advisors are affiliated with a host agency. And 4 out of 10 advisors said that they are affiliated with a consortium or a marketing group. Six out of 10 advisors said that they select a host agency based on referrals from an advisor, colleague, or friend. More than 40% of advisors said that they paid between $100-$500 annually, as fees to the host agency. Customer service was the top factor (82%) for advisors while selecting a host agency. When selecting the consortium, preferred commission with suppliers was the most important deciding factor among advisors (81%). One out of two advisors said that they charge service fees. Another 14% said that they plan to charge them in the future. Social media is emerging as a top source for lead generation for 52% of the advisors. However, word of mouth referrals and current/past clients top the charts in an industry defined by relationships and trust. Emails (91%) and phone calls (90%) are the most popular modes of communication still when connecting with clients. Messaging apps (55%), especially for the client-side communication, are slowly gaining popularity too. Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Zoom are the popular messaging apps used by travel advisors. Three out of four advisors said that they chose a supplier based on the quality of customer support and call service provided. Best practices of other travel advisors (54%), listing of FAM trips (49%) and getting accurate industry news (45%) were the top requisites of the advisors in growing their business. Seven in 10 advisors identified themselves as independent contractors. New talent has entered the industry in the last three years with 30% of advisors saying that they had been in the business for 5 years or less. 85% of the advisors expect to see a 20% or higher growth in business in 2024. FAM trips (83%) continue to be most preferred training formats by advisors. KEY FINDINGS