PhoCusWright Releases Study on U.S Tour Operator Market

PhoCusWright has released a comprehensive study of the tour operator and packaged travel market in the U.S. The study, commissioned by ASTA and researched by PhoCusWright, looks to streamline information on the tour operator market which, according to PhoCusWright, was worth over $18.3 billion in gross travel sales in 2008.

“The growth of online travel and the severe economic downturn of 2009 have imposed substantial change and—in many cases—significant challenges to providers of vacation packages and tours,” said Douglas Quinby, senior director of research at PhoCusWright and author of the report. “This new research delivers not only essential insight into the current state of the industry, but strategic recommendations and actionable intelligence for the many thousands of tour operators and travel agents passionately involved in the business of packaged travel.”

The report covers the size, growth trends, distribution patterns and product developments of the tour operator market and analyzes the major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges facing providers and sellers of packaged travel.

The U.S. Packaged Travel Landscape: 2006-2010 report also includes definitions of key market terms and product categories, historical marketing size in gross sales from 2006-2008 and projections through 2010, analysis of vacation packages, escorted tours, FIT, group travel, distribution channel analysis and trending, including online and offline, consumer direct and travel agent, segmentation by tour operator size, product type and distribution strategy, analysis of online travel agency packaging and the impact on the marketplace, impact of the recession on market size and key distribution and product trends and demographic analysis of tour operator customers.

Source: CaribbeanNewsDigital