The Tracker, launched in April 2020, has charted the trade’s emergence from the Covid crisis, and now monitors more than 60 data points spanning new enquiries and sales, destination and sector-specific trends, and business sentiment and market confidence.
As ever, the Tracker captures a snapshot of how agents are faring, exploring a wide range of business and booking trends such as repeats, conversions, pricing, discounting and levels of new business.
In addition, the poll examines how the ongoing cost of living crisis is affecting agents’ clients and booking intent, asks agents to rank the main issues affecting their businesses, and aims to give the trade a voice to share their own experiences and benefit from those of their peers.
Once again, we have shaken-up our roster of topical questions for the Q3 Tracker, digging into some of the challenges around recruitment and whether agents feel able to achieve a good work-life balance at this time.
And with matching direct pricing and OTAs a paramount concern among agents, we ask whether travel has become more competitive – and what supportive suppliers can do to help the trade.
There is also direct commentary from contributors, giving us their personal takes on everything that has shaped the course of their business over the past three months.
TTG news editor James Chapple, who edits the Tracker, said: "After a busy summer for agents across the UK and Ireland, our third Tracker of the year is an opportunity for agents and suppliers alike to assess the state of the market.
"Will the current trend towards lates endure? Our data backs up findings from the Advantage Travel Partnership that it will. So what does this mean for peaks if the market is still late? The Tracker is an invaluable tool to help travel professionals make sense of an ever-changing industry and landscape.
"We’re incredibly grateful to the 129 agents who responded to our Q3 Tracker, just shy of the 132 that answered the Q2 poll. Over the past three-and-a-half years, the Tracker has become a trusted barometer of trade activity, mood and intention, and we hope the latest report offers agents and suppliers a snapshot against which to benchmark themselves."
