by the association in late October, 59% said they will finish 2024 with visitor numbers that are better (44%) or much better (15%) than last year. Another 30% said their visitation volume is the same this year as last, and 11% said they experienced a decline in 2024. (Companies that are NTA tour supplier members include hotels, attractions, restaurants, experience providers, transportation and sightseeing companies, etc.)
Looking ahead to 2025, two-thirds (66%) of National Tour Association suppliers and DMOs said they expect visitation to their place to increase next year over 2024 – with 18% of them predicting much better numbers – and 22% expect to see a similar amount of visitation. Only 5% expect a drop in visitor volume next year. Among hoteliers alone, expectations are running even higher, with 78% expecting to do better (62.5%) or much better (12.5%) next year.
In September, NTA surveyed its tour operator members, and a majority said that higher rates and inflexible terms pose a significant challenge to their business. This led 88% of operators to
increase the price of their tours, while nearly two-thirds (65%) reported changing suppliers in a destination, and more than four out of every 10 (44%) said they have dropped a tour altogether
because of suppliers’ rates and/or terms.
With rates weighing on operators’ minds, NTA asked suppliers to predict their rates for 2025. Nearly half (46%) predicted their rates will increase in 2025, with 38% expecting an increase of up to 9.9%, and 8% anticipating increases of 10% or more. Another 38% said their rates will remain unchanged next year, and a small number (4%) predicted a decrease. A few (12%) were unsure. Separate estimates for hotels are roughly the same as for all suppliers who participated in the survey.
Tour suppliers were asked to rate on a 10-point scale – with 10 being most-highly valued and 1 being not valued at all – how much they seek and value the group market compared to the individual leisure market. Their average self-rating was 8.2, with hotels alone slightly higher at 8.5. Similarly, NTA asked DMOs to assess how much suppliers in their destination value the group market, and their average rating was 7.0.
Asked to describe their most pressing concerns related to group business, DMOs and tour suppliers cited a range of issues. They include both internal reasons – high rates, lack of dedicated staff, and a lack of local businesses that can accommodate groups – as well as external/operator-related reasons, including cancellations by operators, which makes the business unreliable, or unrealistic expectations, such as requesting refunds upon arrival for last-minute client cancellations.
NTA President Catherine Prather plans to use the results of the two surveys as a springboard for problem-solving. “In addition to getting good data from this survey, we also gathered insightful observations that will guide us in upcoming discussions,” Prather said. “Our buyer and seller members routinely get together to talk about business, and they’re equally willing to discuss solutions to shared challenges. We will facilitate those discussions starting early next year.”
Staffing levels for DMOs and tour suppliers have not reached pre-pandemic levels. Asked to compare their current staffing level with 2019 levels, 53% of DMOs and 40% of tour suppliers report they are either equal to or ahead of 2019. Another 29% of DMOs – and 44% of tour suppliers – say they are operating with somewhere between 75% and 99% of 2019 staffing levels. Both groups report smaller instances of even lower staffing levels. Combined, 11% of DMO and supplier respondents say their staffs are 50 to 74% of their 2019 levels, and a combined 6% report staffing levels lower than half of their pre-pandemic numbers.
Compared to last year, tour suppliers made up ground. At the end of 2023, 28% percent of suppliers said they had reached or surpassed 2019 staffing levels (compared to 40% this year). For DMOs, the percentage of respondents reporting full staffing dropped; last year the figure was 61%, and this year it’s 53%.
Tags: NTA Catherine Prather
