The 1000, a club for influential travel advisors founded by industry veterans Tim Morgan (formerly of Virtuoso) and Jeff Sirota (formerly of Small Luxury Hotels of the World) to complement a travel advisor’s existing agency or consortia relationship, has released member insights about their businesses so far in 2022.
What they shared: Following the decreased sales volumes in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, 2021 production numbers were significantly higher in the United States, as compared to other countries, including for a minority of U.S.-based advisors who saw their 2021 production surpass their pre-pandemic (2019) figures. Canada, the U.K. and Australia followed the U.S. for recovery in 2021, but were significantly lower as tighter travel restrictions prevailed in those regions. In a recent member survey of The 1000, 88 percent of members across the globe said that their 2022 invoiced sales are on track to be ahead of 2019, showing positive momentum for the re-engagement of the travel industry.
The company recently shared that over 1,000 applications for recognition were received from 37 countries, with those submissions representing more than $2 billion in annual sales production—averaging $2.3 million per advisor. For those travel advisors who have been verified and accepted into The 1000, their minimum annual sales production is $1.5 million and their average annual sales production is $3.1 million, with a number of individual advisors each producing over $12 million per year.
Verified top travel advisors accepted into The 1000 find success in all areas of travel, particularly hotels, with their individual product sales averaging in each category as follows: Hotel—34 percent; air—18 percent; cruise—17 percent (ocean cruise, 12 percent and river cruise, five percent); tour—16 percent (escorted tour, seven percent and packaged tour, nine percent); and DMC/on site—15 percent.
When reviewing the industry tenure of top travel advisors, the breakdown shows an opportunity to introduce and foster rising talent. While nearly half of members (48 percent) have spent over 15 years as an advisor, 20 percent have spent 10 to 15 years in the industry, 26 percent five to 10 years, and 6 percent under five years.
Complimentary applications for The 1000 are open until July 29, 2022. For more information, visit www.the1000.club.
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