2022 AMONG THE 700 TRAVEL ADVISORS SURVEYED, MORE THAN HALF (52%) WERE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS (ICs) and one-third (33%) were travel agency owners/managers. About a quarter (24%) of the advisors said they work in the traditional agency set up with a storefront location, while 24% work without a brick- and-mortar location. Independent contractors (IC) made up 52% of the total advisors, of which 44% work with a host while others work on their own. IN TERMS OF ANNUAL GROSS SALES IN 2019, 25% OF THE ADVISORS BOOKED MORE THAN US$1 MILLION IN SALES, OF WHICH 12% CLOCKED MORE THAN US$2 MILLION. 46% of the advisors have been selling travel products for more than 20 years, while 8% are new entrants with less than two years of industry experience. 90% OF THE ADVISORS WERE AGED 45 OR OLDER, OF WHICH 34% HAVE THREE DECADES OF SALES EXPERIENCE. More than half (57%) of those aged 18-44 had up to 5 years of experience in selling travel products. MOST OF THE ADVISORS (92%) SAID THEY WERE AFFILIATED, EITHER WITH A CONSORTIUM, A HOST, OR A FRANCHISE, with Travel Leaders Group and Virtuoso being the most popular. 96% OF THE ADVISORS SAID THEY SOLD CRUISE VACATIONS. Half of the annual gross bookings of the advisors consisted of cruise vacations in 2019, with the contemporary market making up 38%, premium 33% and luxury 28% of all cruise vacations sold in the year. LUXURY IS THE HIGHEST-SELLING SEGMENT AMONG REPEAT CRUISERS (80%). THE ADVISORS BELIEVE THAT ALL-INCLUSIVE AMENITIES (92%), GOURMET FOOD (90%) AND BIG, LUXURIOUS CABINS (89%) ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS FOR TRAVELERS WHEN OPTING FOR LUXURY CRUISES, while the advisors themselves value all-inclusive amenities (76%), unique and wide range of itineraries (74%), and a low guest-to-crew ratio (72%) the most. The biggest motivators for clients taking a luxury cruise vacation are bucket list experience/destination (79%), the choice to cruise on a smaller ship with fewer guests (77%) and the element of luxury (63%). FOR LUXURY CRUISE VACATIONS, FACTORS THAT SWAY CLIENT DECISIONS ARE AMENITIES INCLUDED ON BOARD (81%), DESTINATIONS AND ITINERARIES (79%), THE EXPERIENCE AND REPUTATION OF THE CRUISE LINE (79%) AND THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE ADVISOR (59%). With 79% of the travelers opting for it, Europe emerged as the favorite destination, which was twice as popular as the next destinations on the list (ALASKA AT 40% AND THE CARIBBEAN AND THE BAHAMAS BOTH AT 39%). WHEN RECOMMENDING LUXURY CRUISES, ADVISORS LIST HIGH COST (62%), NOT GETTING PREFERRED DESTINATION/ITINERARY (43%) AND AVAILABLE INVENTORY NOT MATCHING CLIENT NEEDS (35%) AS THE BIGGEST HESITANCY FACTORS FOR THEIR CLIENTS. In order to better recommend more suitable luxury cruises to their clients, advisors feel they need personal cruise experience-FAM trips (76%), more training programs (46%), better call center operations (43%) and improved booking tools (37%). WHEN IT COMES TO ADVISOR TRAINING, THE MOST PREFERRED FORMATS INCLUDED FAM TRIP (88%), virtual courses (70%) and one-day offsite training (43%) while the topics they want to be trained on include product/destination (71%), specialization (68%) and social media (41%). KEY FINDINGS