By Travel Pulse

Posted 13 December 2021, 08:47 PM ET

The United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) released the findings of its annual survey focusing on current trends, key issues and factors impacting the tour operator industry.

According to the study released during the 2022 USTOA Annual Conference and Marketplace in San Diego, 93 percent of respondents anticipate growth in sales in 2022, while another 65 percent are forecasting average growth of between 7-10 percent.

The survey also found that 53 percent of tour operators believe the travel industry will see a full recovery of business by the end of 2023, while 20 percent believe the recovery will come by 2022. Only seven percent of respondents reported recovery by 2025 or beyond.

USTOA members reported that 59 percent of existing bookings for 2022 are new and 41 percent are rebooked passengers from canceled trips in 2020/2021. In addition, 75 percent of existing bookings are to international destinations, while 25 percent are to North American destinations.

“As far as booking patterns go, it's really been all over the place for a lot of the tour operators based upon what's happening,” Scott Wiseman of ALG Vacations told TravelPulse. “What's encouraging is that we're seeing more of new bookings versus the rebooking.”

Most tour operator members (91 percent) report being confident that guest bookings will increase in 2022, while 36 percent reported consumers are booking within four to six months of departure.

“While this year’s survey reveals more confidence moving into 2022, our members are not blind to the challenges that lay ahead on the road to recovery,” USTOA President Terry Dale said. “We asked members to name the biggest challenge or obstacle to operating in 2022 and border closing confusion across countries/states topped the list, followed by customer confidence to travel.”

The study also reinforced the significant contribution travel advisors make to the tour operator industry, with 89 percent of members planning to utilize agents to generate sales as they continue to resume business in 2022.

Italy topped the list of top international destinations travelers are booking for 2022, with France and Greece tied for second and Ireland ranked third. As for domestic destinations, National Parks topped the list, while Alaska followed in second and Hawaii finished third.

USTOA members chose small group tours as the most popular travel product for 2022. FIT ranked second, followed by private groups, classic group tours (25 passengers or more), river cruising and small ship cruising. Ocean cruising (medium-to-large ship) rounded out the list.

Sustainable or responsible travel topped the list of trends that will have the most impact on the industry over the next ten years, with 56 percent already having formal policies, procedures and metrics to measure social and environmental implications of services.