Travel agents’ growing cruise sales may reverse trend to direct

A March bookings report and remarks from cruise executives indicate that travel advisors’ cruise bookings are rebounding. Travel agents’ proportion of cruise bookings tanked to an all-time low of 52% in 2021, down from 70% in 2019, as direct bookings gained traction, according to the US Cruise Market Report 2022-2026, released by Phocuswright. But projections suggest concerns about an increase in direct bookings could be relatively short-lived, with the share of travel advisor bookings predicted to return to 2019 levels by 2025 and increase to 71% by 2026. “Cruise was hit so hard and is coming back so strong,” said…

Waukesha woman creates travel agency | Waukesha Co. BusinessNews

WAUKESHA — A Waukesha woman decided to travel a new path, which included going into business for herself. Emily Schultz, the owner of Magic Mom Travel, launched her agency in June. Previously she worked as a travel agent for seven years, serving the southeastern Wisconsin area. Schultz enjoyed making new connections through servicing clients’ vacations. Get daily updates from The Freeman sent directly to your email inbox. SIGN UP “After seven years I was doing things all on my own. I had my client base and it was going well,” Schultz said. She then made the decision to launch Magic…