How easy is it for college travel graduates to find a travel agency job in SA?
Easy - agencies are desperate for staff (8%)
Easy - but only if you have some experience (11%)
Hard – agencies only want ITCs (3%)
Hard – agencies only want low-paid interns (14%)
Hard – no agency wants to train juniors (26%)
Hard – so many agents are now ITCs, and they don’t want to employ (39%)
Does the industry lack experienced staff?
No. We have no problem finding experienced staff (14%)
We take on ITCs because we don't want to employ (15%)
We are training up juniors and fast-tracking them because we can't find experienced agents (15%)
We are taking on ITCs because we can't afford experienced agents (16%)
We are keeping our agency small because we can't find experienced agents (41%)
Are you seeing demand for Thailand?
Yes, more than in 2019 (17%)
Yes, just as much as in 2019 (11%)
Fewer bookings than in 2019 (42%)
A tiny fraction of the pre-COVID bookings. (30%)
Post-pandemic, how are suppliers incentivising agents?
Suppliers are doing so well they don’t feel the need to incentivise us (59%)
Suppliers are slowly reintroducing agent incentives (28%)
Agent incentives are the same as 2019 (4%)
Suppliers are incentising agents more than in 2019 (8%)
Is baggage still being lost and mishandled post-Covid?
Yes (74%)
NO (26%)
Are corporate conferencing budgets back to where they were in 2019?
Disappointing - it's taking longer than anticipated (67%)
Very much the same as 2019 (10%)
There's big spending on conferences after the inaction during Covid (22%)
What percentage of your clients still travel without any top up travel insurance?
0-30% (40%)
30-60% (24%)
60% or more (36%)
Are your clients asking for trains instead of short-distance flights in Europe?
Yes (51%)
No (49%)
What is your reason for cautioning young people against going into the travel industry?
High pressure, zero-error job for low salary (57%)
Very few salaried jobs (all ITCs now) (2%)
Another pandemic could wipe out travel again (2%)
The master-slave relationship between airlines and agents (6%)
The travel perks are gone (4%)
Airlines try to steal our clients (1%)
Competing with cheaper rates on the internet (11%)
An innocent mistake gets you an ADM which can ruin you (10%)
We have to be on call 24 hours a day (8%)
Would you recommend to young people that they go into the travel industry?
Yes (38%)
No (62%)
Is corporate travel to China, including trade fairs and expos, experiencing good recovery?
Yes (20%)
No (80%)
Do you predict that your travel volumes will reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year?
Yes (72%)
No (28%)
Has demand for Asian cruising returned post-pandemic?
Yes (23%)
No (77%)
Compared to pre-Covid, is demand for travel to China back to:
30% of 2019 (78%)
60% of 2019 (13%)
90% of 2019 or more (9%)
Which country has the most unpredictable timing for issuing visas (compared to what’s quoted on its website)? If you’ve found countries not listed here troublesome, please email maritan@nowmedia.co.za.
Canada (51%)
The US (20%)
The UK (12%)
France (1%)
Australia and/or New Zealand (14%)
Spain (2%)
I expect more travel bookings from my clients in 2023 than in 2019.
Agree (74%)
Disagree (9%)
Don't know (17%)
Are the numbers of travel sales for the next six months on par with 2019 Dec/Jan levels (pre-Covid)?
Sales are below pre-Covid levels (33%)
Sales are on par with 2019 (26%)
Increased by 10% (11%)
Up 35% - 50% (13%)
Up more than 50% (8%)
We are up 80 - 100% (4%)
More than 100% sales growth (5%)
Are high ticket prices deterring South African leisure clients from travelling overseas?
Yes (76%)
No (24%)
Which domestic airline is the easiest for travel agents to deal with?
The results of this poll are not available.
ITCs! Can you afford to be out of the office for a big chunk of the day getting live training, workshops or product launches?
Yes, I want live workshops in the morning (32%)
Yes, I want live workshops in the afternoon (11%)
Yes, I want live workshops on the weekends/evenings (9%)
No, give us online training (48%)
What cruises are the most popular for the SA market?
South African coastal cruises (47%)
Caribbean (4%)
Mediterranean (43%)
Arabian gulf (2%)
Australia, NZ and South Pacific (1%)
Far East (1%)
Southeast Asia (0%)
Northern Europe (1%)
Transatlantic (0%)
Northern America (1%)
How much of the travel you are selling is corporate trips?
10% or less (29%)
11-30% (13%)
31-60% (13%)
61-90% (22%)
More than 90% (24%)
Calling all agents! What do you prefer to be known as?
Travel consultant (33%)
Travel agent (7%)
Travel advisor (15%)
Travel expert (8%)
Travel professional (31%)
None of the above (6%)
What is the top seller for December?
Africa (11%)
Domestic destinations (14%)
Mauritius (47%)
Other Indian Ocean islands (3%)
Thailand (3%)
Bali, Indonesia (0%)
Other Southeast Asian destinations (6%)
Europe (8%)
The UK (5%)
North America (3%)
With airfares currently very high, are clients requesting ‘skiplagging’ (booking an itinerary where the stopover is the client’s intended destination)?
Yes (30%)
No (70%)
What would it take to attract agents to go back to working in a retail travel agency? Select the most important point below.
Flexible and/or remote working (33%)
More commission (15%)
Job security/fixed contract (18%)
Access to learning and training opportunities (2%)
Access to educationals (7%)
Special travel rates for agents (7%)
Networking opportunities (eg. participate in industry networking events, roadshows and product launches) (3%)
In-house systems that help to combat capacity shortages and point of sale issues (6%)
Choice of employment or ITC options (8%)
Now that passenger details have to be supplied in an airline booking, are you finding airlines are using this info to market direct offers to your clients?
Yes (75%)
No (25%)
What is the thing you dislike MOST about your job now? Check up to 3 answers.
Airlines should be paying us commission (15%)
Airlines are uncontactable and have dumped all the clients’ problems on us (26%)
Older clients need “babying” through the technology (2%)
I spend too much time making no money on cancelled flights and booking changes (21%)
High airfares make travel unsellable (15%)
Airline websites compete with us on price (20%)
What is the thing you love MOST about your job now? Check up to 3 answers.
Clients finally respect our knowledge and expertise. (34%)
I have a new client base of leisure travellers, willing to pay my fees. (16%)
We are making more money than before, and we have stabilised our business. (16%)
I love working in an office amid the camaraderie of my co-workers. (16%)
I love going out and mixing with colleagues at industry functions. (19%)
Are the dramatic increases in domestic airfares stopping people buying tickets? Compare August 2022 with March 2022 (number of tickets sold, not sales value).
Yes, the number of domestic tickets sold by me, compared with March this year, has dropped dramatically. (44%)
Yes, but only a slight change. (20%)
No, people are buying regardless of the crazy prices. (36%)
