Speaking at the Abta Travel Marketing Conference in London, GWI’s head of travel Stuart Baker said the biggest growth in the use of agents was among those aged 16 to 30 and those over 50. 

This March, 18% of 16 to 34-year-olds surveyed said they were using agents – up 36% on last July. 

Baker said the trend had “bounced” towards a younger audience who had not done this before.

“That caught us out a little bit,” he admitted. “We have a theory it’s about trust… it’s driven by the need to use expertise and a trusted advisor when booking a trip that is experiential, unique, out of the ordinary or a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

“They want people who know what they are talking about, so experience is important.”

He added that this wasn’t likely to be entirely pandemic-related. 

GWI has for some time been recording a loss of trust in influencers, who are no longer seen as necessarily impartial. Baker believes the shift to a more traditional channel for travel recommendations is tied up in this. 

He pledged to follow up the agent trend in future surveys: “We’re tracking this, it’s really interesting,” he added.