ATIA: Travel agencies continue to thrive in the digital age

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The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) issued a statement rejecting claims in KPMG’s latest research report today, 2nd May.

The new report declared that the travel agent profession is in decline, a declaration that ATIA decries as misleading and disconnected from both real-time industry activity and government-backed projections.

Indeed, ATIA chief executive Dean Long proclaims the present time as the golden age of travel professionals, as more Australians, many of whom were burnt by COVID-travel experiences, turn to expert advisors for complex travel needs and crisis support.

Long said: “KPMG’s report unfortunately fails to reflect the devastating impact of COVID on our sector, when the international travel ban forced the loss of more than a third of our workforce. The 2021 Census which KPMG has relied on reflects a time when the borders were closed and the industry in survival mode given this the bulk of the bookings made through our members are for International Travel. This period of extensive job losses has continued to impact as the sector rebuilds but the job losses are not due to lack of traveller appetite for expert travel support.”

Erroneous sources

The KPMG report references a ten-year reduction in travel agent roles, claiming the profession has experienced the biggest decline of any major occupation and attributing the decline to the impact of online.

However, the industry snapshot captured in the August 2021 Census which is one of the sources for the KPMG report was at the height of COVID-19 lockdowns and international border closures. 

At that time, the industry had recorded revenue losses exceeding 90 percent, and more than a third of the workforce had been let go as international travel ground to a halt.

While that shortfall is still being felt today, with accredited travel businesses across the country reporting persistent skills shortages, the demand for travel professionals is stronger than ever, and Australians are using accredited agents at record levels.

While the KPMG Report also relies on Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) data from May 2024 including the fact that more than 17,000 Australians are working as Tourism and Travel Advisors, it seems to ignore JSA’s accompanying forecasts that the sector will grow by 4.3 percent over the next five years and nearly 10 percent within the next decade.

On the way to recovery

Over 70 percent of international air sales and more than 90 percent of corporate travel bookings are still made through agents proving that travel professionals are not only relevant, but central to how Australians travel today. 

In 2024 alone, ATIA members booked $13.5 billion in retail travel, $11.8 billion in corporate travel, and $5.6 billion in land operations.

The profession is still rebuilding following COVID-19, but the fundamentals have never been stronger: travellers want personalised advice, expert support in times of disruption, and guidance in an increasingly complex global travel landscape.

As Long puts it: “The demand for travel agents and advisors has never been higher and the biggest challenge we face is not declining relevance, but an urgent workforce shortfall that we continue to work hard to have addressed so Australian travel businesses can meet this growing demand.”

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