Off Radar Cruise News: Travel Leaders Group ?2013 Travel Trends ...

Americans Are Headed to Europe in 2013 ? Half of Top 10 International ?Destinations? are European or Europe Cruises

Findings also indicate travel spending will increase; Orlando beats Las Vegas as the top domestic destination for 2013; Top ?up and coming? destinations are identified.

Plymouth, MN (December 19, 2012) ? Today, Travel Leaders Group unveiled the 2013 results of its authoritative annual Travel Trends Survey. Over 92% of Travel Leaders Group agents surveyed throughout the United States say clients will spend the same or more on travel in 2013 as compared to last year, and Europe ? along with European cruising ? appears to be driving much of that spending. Three of the top five international destinations and half of the top ten international destinations are European. Demand is also high as over 82% of the surveyed agents indicate that bookings are on par or greater than this time one year ago.?

This survey, based on actual booking data, was conducted by Travel Leaders Group from November 19 -?

December 16, 2012, and includes responses from 1,045 U.S.-based travel agency owners, managers and?

frontline travel agents from the flagship Travel Leaders brand, along with those affiliated with Travel Leaders Group?s Luxury Travel Network, Nexion, Results! Travel, Travel Leaders Corporate, Tzell?

Travel Group and Vacation.com units.

?Already, 2013 is shaping up to be a banner year for European travel. While Caribbean cruises are still the number one international ?destination? for our travelers, our booking data shows a marked increase in American travelers headed across the Atlantic in the coming year,? stated Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben. ?Rome and London always draw large numbers of travelers ? this year each city moved up one spot to numbers four and five, respectively, on our list. The biggest surprise for some may be the spectacular rebound for European cruises. Mediterranean cruises landed in our top three for the first time ever and European river cruising is the ultimate ?hot? ticket ? in just two years it has jumped 13 places to the eighth most booked international destination in our survey. That?s simply stunning.??The continued uptick in travel spending year-over-year ? and the fact that over 82% of agents state the number of bookings are the same or higher than last year at this time ? may indicate that Americans are fairly confident we won?t go over the ?fiscal cliff? and it goes hand-in-hand with travelers heading to more distant and unique destinations,? added Liben. ?Certain destinations will be perennial favorites, such as Orlando and Las Vegas, but for travelers interested in staying ahead of the pack, we also identify the top up-and-coming destinations. This year we looked at four different regions around the world and the results vary from New Zealand and Vietnam to Croatia and Ecuador, including the Galapagos. That?s a very positive indicator for our industry.?

Below are some of the top findings from this year?s Travel Leaders Group Travel Trends Survey including: top international and domestic destinations, ?up and coming? destinations, travel spending data, and more:

Top ?Up and Coming? International Destinations:

When asked for their expert findings, Travel Leaders Group agents nationally indicate Croatia remains the top ?up and coming? international destination within Europe, New Zealand is the hot new destination in the Pacific, Vietnam is still tops within Asia, and Ecuador (including the Galapagos) is the up-and-comer over Panama among destinations within Central/South America.

? Europe ?Up and Coming?: Croatia (34.9%), Turkey (12.9%), Czech Republic (12.2%),?

Portugal (10.9%), and Iceland (9.87%)

? Pacific ?Up and Coming?: New Zealand (27.8%), Fiji (13.6%), Tahiti (13.0%), Bora Bora (12.8%), and Australia ? South Australia (5.4%). It should be noted that if Australia wasn?t broken out by state, it would be second behind New Zealand with 16.3%.

? Asia/Southeast Asia ?Up and Coming?: Vietnam (48.3%), Indonesia (7.6%), Burma/Myanmar (7.2%), Cambodia (7.2%), and Malaysia (6.8%).

? Central/South America ?Up and Coming?: Ecuador and Galapagos Islands (18.2%), Panama (17.5%), Peru (17.1%), Brazil (16.8%), and Argentina (10.5%).

Travel Spending in 2013:

Based on current bookings to date for 2013 and conversations with clients, over 92% of Travel Leaders Group agents surveyed say clients will spend the same or more on travel in 2013 (53.1% say clients will spend more while 39.1% say spending will remain the same). That percentage is up over 2012 when 91.3% said clients would spend the same or more than in 2011.

Top Destinations: U.S. and International Based on Actual 2013 Bookings:

The following lists display the top international and domestic destinations for 2013, along with rankings from the 2012 survey conducted one year ago (agents were asked to name up to five top destinations they?re already booking for 2013):

Rank ? 2013 Top Int'l Destinations ? 2013% ? 2012 Rank

1 CRUISE- Caribbean 52.3% 1

2 Cancun, Mexico 42.4% 2

3 CRUISE- Europe (Mediterranean) 28.7% 44 Rome, Italy 25.7% 5

5 London, England 24.4% 6

6 Punta Cana, Dominican Republic 24.1% 7

7 Playa del Carmen/Riviera Maya, Mexico 18.0% 3

8 CRUISE- Europe (River) 17.5% 13

9 (tie) Montego Bay, Jamaica 16.6% 9

9 (tie) Paris, France 16.6% 8

11 Florence and/or Tuscany, Italy 9.6% 12

12 Negril, Jamaica 8.9% 10

13 Barcelona, Spain 8.4% 18

14 CRUISE- Mexico 7.9% 16 (tie)

15 Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos, Mexico 7.5% 11

Rank ? ?2013 Top Domestic Destinations ? ?2013% ? ?2012 Rank

1 Orlando, FL 44.7% 2

2 Las Vegas, NV 44.1% 1

3 (tie) Cruise ? Alaska 40.0% 4

3 (tie) Maui, HI 40.0% 3

5 New York City, NY 32.2% 5

6 Honolulu, HI 27.3% 6

7 San Francisco, CA 14.8% 12

8 Washington, D.C. 13.6% 7

9 Chicago, IL 13.4% 8

10 Los Angeles, CA 11.5% 9

11 Fort Lauderdale, FL 10.5% 15

12 Cruise ? Hawaii 9.9% 14

13 Miami/Miami Beach, FL 9.5% 18

14 U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix) 9.1% 22

15 Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ 8.8% 10

Top Cruise Destinations for 2013

Among Travel Leaders Group agents whose expertise is in leisure travel and cruising, when asked ?Which one of the following cruise destinations are you booking the most for 2013?? Western Caribbean itineraries edged out Alaska. Agents are also booking a significant number of European river cruises and Mediterranean cruises ? both landed among the top five.?

1 Caribbean ? Western 20.5%

2 Alaska 20.3%

3 Caribbean ? Eastern 18.7%

4 Europe ? River Cruise 13.3%

5 Europe ? Mediterranean 10.8%

? Mediterranean Cruises ? When asked, ?Comparing your overall 2013 Mediterranean cruise bookings so far to your 2012 bookings at this time last year, which is true?? of the 458 Travel

Leaders Group leisure agents who indicate they book Mediterranean cruises, bookings are higher than or equal to last year for 79.9% (32.3% say ?higher? while 47.6% say ?equal to last year?).

? European River Cruises ? When asked, ?Comparing your overall 2013 Europe river cruise bookings so far to your 2012 bookings at this time last year, which is true?? of the 458 Travel Leaders Group leisure agents who indicate they book Europe river cruises, bookings are higher than or equal to last year for 92.4% (60.7% say ?higher while 31.7% say ?equal to last year?).

Comparing your overall 2013 bookings so far to your 2012 bookings at this time last year, which is true?

2013 Response ? ?2013% ? ?2012% ? ?2011% ? ?2010%

They?re Higher ? ? ? ? 45.7 ? ? ? ? 39.5 ? ? ? ? 50.3 ? ? ? ?28.2

They?re About Even 36.4 ? ? ? ? 40.8 ? ? ? ? 30.7 ? ? ? ?34

They?re Lower ? ? ? ? 17.9 ? ? ? ?19.7 ? ? ? ? ?19 3 ? ? ? ?7.8

What is your personal outlook on your business in 2013?

2013 Response ? ?2013% ? ?2012% ? ?2011% ? ?2010%

Optimistic ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 78.7 ? ? ? ? 78.8 ? ? ? ? 80.3 ? ? ? ? 75.8

Neither optimistic?

nor pessimistic ? ? ? ?16.0 ? ? ? ? ?17.3 ? ? ? ?15.0 ? ? ? ? ?16.5

Pessimistic ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?5.3 ? ? ? ? ? ?3.9 ? ? ? ? 4.7 ? ? ? ? ? ?7.7

# # #

Travel Leaders Group (www.traveleadersgroup.com) is transforming travel with a commitment to our vacation and business travel clients via our progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. Having already assisted millions of travelers ? through our beginnings as Carlson Leisure Group, a division of Carlson Companies, TraveLeaders and Tzell Travel Group and through the additions of Nexion, Protravel International and Vacation.com ? Travel Leaders Group manages leisure, business and franchise travel operations under a variety of diversified divisions and brands. With sales of approximately $18 billion, Travel Leaders Group not only ranks as the #1 corporate travel management company by Business Travel News, but it is also among the top ten travel companies on the 2012 Travel Weekly Power List. In 2012, Entrepreneur ranked a Travel Leaders Franchise Brand #1 in the category of ?Travel Agencies-Miscellaneous.?

Source: http://www.offradarcruisenews.com/2013/01/travel-leaders-group-2013-travel-trends.html

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