HERE ’ S A DATA-DRIVEN VIEW OF THE LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR RIGHT NOW .

WORDS / CODIE LIERMANN

However , these developments can ’ t be accomplished without getting to know you , the advisor , on a deeper level . We need to know how you prefer to work , who your clients are and what resources on VAX are most helpful to you .

This means we need to hear what you have to say .

As we wrapped up 2023 , we did so as we ’ ve done so many times in the past : with our

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17 % annual travel advisor survey . This year ’ s survey yielded 1,262 responses , up 558 from last year and 857 from 2021 . Active participation is key to learning exactly what you need from VAX , and we ’ re elated to see the involvement growing each year . So , without further ado , here are the results .

ADVISOR IDENTITIES Jumping right into the demographics , the survey results showed that 82 % of VAX users identify as female , 15 % as male and 1 % as nonbinary ; 3 % preferred not to answer this question .

As far as age goes , almost 60 % of advisors fell between 45 and 64 years of age , with 29 % in the 45 to 54 range and 28 % in the 55 to

29 % 28 %

19 %

64 range . The next most popular age was 65 + at 19 % and 35 to 44 years at 17 %. According to the results , 0 % fell under 24 years of age .

EMPLOYMENT DETAILS The number of new travel advisors continues to be a point of conversation , and the survey results showed exactly how popular new advisors are with 34 % answering that they have less than two years of experience — up 7 % from last year . We are happy you ’ re here , as we have an entire resource page on VAX created especially for you ( the “ New Advisor Education ” page listed under the “ Education ” tab ).

Twenty-one percent have two to five years of experience , and 16 % have six to 10 years . Ten percent fell between 11 and 20 years of experience ; 9 % have 21 to 30 years ; 7 % have 31-40 years , and 3 % have more than 40 years of experience .

The number of respondents who are fulltime home-based advisors has stayed about the same year over year , at 61 %, and being home-based with an office jumped from 18 % last year to 24 % this year . It seems as though face time with clients is important , as another 10 % work from an office and accept in-person customers . Only 2 % of respondents work in an office not accepting in-person customers .

While 53 % of respondents said they work full time , another 26 % responded that they work full time but consider it a secondary income . More than half ( 54 %) noted their annual income is less than 25k , while 27 % fell within 25k and 75k . Three percent of advisors are making more than 150k .

74 / THE COMPASS / WINTER 2023 vaxvacationaccess . com / thecompass