ADVISOR DEMOGRAPHICS New entrants in the industry prefer to work as indepen- dent contractors (ICs), proven by the fact that 33% of the ICs have less than 5 years of experience. In comparison, 15% of ICs have more than 30 years of experience and 12% have 20-30 years of experience. 43% of the advisors associated with agencies are those with more than 30 years of experience. The gross sales of advisors have a direct correlation with their age and experience as well as the type of business with which they are associated. Three in five (60%) of the retail agencies with a storefront managed annual gross sale of over $1 million, while only 19% of ICs were able to do so. Almost half (48%) of those with more than 30 years of experience booked over a million dollars in annual sales as compared to 7% in the least experienced group. Within organizations, more managers (78%) tend to cross the million-dollar mark than even the owners (33%). Owners bringing fewer sales can also be attributed to the fact that some of them have started focusing more on managing the ICs working with their agency, as told by one of the owners who participated in the survey. Overall, a-third of the advisors managed annual sales over $1 million. CHART 6 | 15 ANNUAL GROSS SALES BY ADVISOR’S AGE, YEARS IN BUSINESS & BUSINESS TYPE More than $1m Up to $1m Business Description Years in Business Advisor Position Retail travel agency, with storefront Retail travel agency, non-storefront IC working on their own IC working with a host Up to 5 years 6-10 years 11-20 years 20-30 years 30+ years Owner/ Manager Employee Independent Contractor Total 40% 60% 77% 23% 79% 21% 81% 19% 93% 7% 80% 20% 76% 24% 60% 40% 52% 48% 62% 38% 82% 18% 68% 32% 45% 55%