Travel advisors are bullish on 2025. But they’re a little skittish when it comes to artificial intelligence.
A new survey of advisors affiliated with Travelsavers Canada agencies finds 81% predict their revenues will grow even further next year.
Driving this anticipated growth is a shift in consumer behaviour: Travellers will increasingly turn to a professional consultant for a superior vacation experience. Ninety one per cent of the respondents believe consumer demand for working with advisors will remain steady or grow further.
“We’re experiencing unprecedented demand for travel advisors as more consumers are recognizing the value of expert guidance,” said Jane Clementino, Senior Vice President and General Manager of TRAVELSAVERS Canada. “Travellers are looking for professionals who can craft personalized vacations, ensuring their journeys are seamless, unique, and unforgettable.”
Despite two years of healthy sales increases and an industry-wide shortage of consultants, some advisors would still welcome a boost to their business. Eighty-two % expressed a desire to add clients, while 15% are satisfied with their current numbers. Just three % would prefer to downsize their clientele.
Positive AI Perceptions Grow
Advisor perceptions of AI are more positive:
- 27% now say it’s a great tool, compared to 11% last year
- Negative sentiment is at seven per cent, a slight rise from last year’s six per cent
- 32% say they’re still not familiar enough with AI
- Travel advisor use of generative artificial intelligence remains flat. Despite its rising prominence overall, the survey revealed a need for continued advisor education:
- 11% now use it frequently - unchanged from last year
- Nine per cent use it occasionally, compared to 11% in the 2024 survey
- Nine per cent say they don’t and won’t use it, down from 12% last year
- Despite the wide exposure AI has received recently, 33% say they are still not familiar enough with it
TRAVELSAVERS Introduces AI Tool for Agents
To capitalize on the continued need for building AI awareness, TRAVELSAVERS Canada has introduced a proprietary tool that empowers advisors to market to clients and prospects in minutes instead of hours. AI Connect will integrate exclusive partner offers into marketing materials such as social media captions, blog posts and landing pages. Trained specifically for the travel industry, the tool learns each advisor’s unique tone, delivering materials that are on brand and on target.
“AI is steadily becoming an essential tool in the travel advisor’s toolkit, but there’s still a significant knowledge gap to address,” said Clementino. “With AI Connect, we’re empowering advisors to harness the capabilities of AI in a way that’s tailored specifically to their needs. It’s about making technology work smarter for the travel industry.”
Survey Results
2025 Sales
- 54% predict sales will increase somewhat
- 27% predict sales will increase significantly
- 15% predict sales will stay the same
- 4% predict sales will decrease somewhat
New Client Prospecting
- 47% are looking to grow their clientele substantially
- 35% are looking for a few more clients
- 15% are not looking for more clients
- 3% would like to reduce their number of clients
Consumer Attitudes Towards Advisors
- 57% say consumers will be more likely to work with advisors
- 34% say consumers will work with advisors in the same numbers as last year
- 9% say consumers will be less likely to work with advisors
AI Usage
- 11% use it frequently
- 9% use it occasionally
- 16% have tried it
- 19% plan to try it
- 9% don’t and won’t use it
- 33% aren’t familiar enough with it
AI Attitude
- 27% say it’s a great tool for advisors
- 23% say it has potential for advisors
- 6% say it’s neither good nor bad
- 5% say it’s not good for advisors
- 2% say it’s a threat to advisors
- 32% aren’t familiar enough with it
- 5% no opinion
Advisors affiliated with TRAVELSAVERS Canada agencies participated in the survey between 29OCT and 16NOV, 2024.
