Members said they had medium (56%) or high (44%) levels of optimism for the rest of the year after a boost in bookings compared to pre-pandemic trading. 

In comparison to 2019, 16% of ITAA members reported an increase in sales by up to 10%, with another 53% of members reporting increases of more than 10%, while 16% of members have maintained the same level of bookings and the remainder of members saw bookings decrease.

Top-selling destinations included Spain, Portugal, France and Italy.

The ITAA said its corporate business over the same comparison period,  55% of agencies’ bookings remained the same, 31% saw an increase and 14% a decline.

ITAA president Paul Hackett said: “We are delighted that our members are experiencing a bounceback in the travel trade but we are unsurprised as it is what we are seeing on the ground. The survey results are very positive, and it is wonderful to see our members optimistic for the rest of 2023.”