76.3% of travel agencies indicate that their turnover increased in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year, while 23.7% indicate that their income decreased, according to a survey carried out by the Confederation Spanish Travel Agencies (CEAV).
With these data, the president of CEAV, Carlos Garrido, has highlighted that the sales of the first quarter were “very positive” and that they showed an anticipation in the reservation time that “favors the agencies in that it makes planning easier for us.” . “We trust that this year will be a good year for the sector,” he added.
To date, this increase exceeds the forecasts set by the agencies themselves at the beginning of the year. At that time, the CEAV survey advanced moderate optimism. Only 30.5% of agencies believed that their billing would improve, while 18.1% believed that it would worsen and 51.4% believed that it would remain stable.
Prudence made sense because 2023 was a record year for travel agencies and it is always difficult to beat records. The turnover of travel agencies and tour operators grew by 27% in 2023 compared to the previous year. It was thus positioned as the branch of activity that increased its income the most in Spain, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Continuing with the results of the first quarter, among the agencies whose income grew, 26.2% assure that the increase was less than 5%, 44.7% affirm that it was between 5 and 10%, and 29 The remaining 1% consider that the growth was greater than 10%.
Otherwise, of the agencies that registered a drop in sales, 29.5% claim that the decrease was less than 5%, 22.7 indicate that it was between 5 and 10% and 47.7 % states that it exceeded 10%.
On the other hand, when asked about employment, 20.3% indicate that it increased in the first quarter, while 4.8% indicate that it decreased. For the remaining 74.9%, it remained the same.
In March, members linked to travel agencies and tour operators amounted to 67,799, which represents an increase of 8.4% year-on-year, as recalled by the employers’ association based on data from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
