In a word, yes. This is particularly true for marketers of travel services who have identified 'affluent travellers' (those who enjoy an annual household income in excess of $150,000, or the top seven per cent of all United States households) as their primary target.

Nearly three in 10 (28 per cent) affluent leisure travellers report using a travel agent to gather information or book a leisure trip on which they stayed in 'luxury accommodations' during the past year. Although directionally down from the level recorded in 2004 (32 per cent), this decline in incidence is not statistically significant.

Among affluent leisure travellers who have used a travel agent to make reservations, the majority report using an agent to book a hotel or resort and/or an airline reservation. More than one-half report having used the services of a travel agent to select a vacation destination, up significantly from the level recorded in 2004. One-third used the services of an agent to book a cruise, and a slightly lower percentage used an agent to book a vacation package or tour. More than two in 10 affluent leisure travellers used a travel agent to book a rental car, and one in 20 used a travel agent to book accommodations at a destination spa.

(See Table 1 and 2 below).

About half (48 per cent) of all affluent leisure travellers who use the services of travel agents consider the recommendations made by their agents to be 'very/extremely' influential. It is important to note this proportion has not changed from that recorded in 2004.

*Top two boxes score on a scale of one to five where one equals 'not at all influential' and five equals 'extremely influential'.

These data clearly reveal that travel agents remain an important channel of distribution for travel service suppliers, and they continue to play an influential role in directing both the destination and supplier selections made by their clients. As such, they should continue to figure prominently in the marketing efforts of travel service suppliers, particularly those who are interested in reaching the most affluent U.S. households.

Information received from Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell.