If you search “are travel agents dying” online, you’ll find no shortage of strong opinions.
Some claim the profession is already gone.
Others insist it’s thriving.
Both sides seem certain they’re right, and the conflicting narratives make it difficult for anyone on the outside to know what’s actually happening.
But the data tells a more nuanced story than either extreme suggests.
LinkedIn’s 2025 “Jobs on the Rise” report ranked “travel advisor” at number 18 among the fastest-growing professions, marking the second consecutive year the role appeared on the list. (link)
At the same time, luxury travel consortium Virtuoso reported a 12% increase in overall sales for the first half of 2025 compared to the prior year, with hotel bookings alone climbing nearly 26%. (link)
These aren’t the numbers of a dying profession.
So why does the perception persist? The answer has less to do with whether the role exists and more to do with what people mean when they say “travel agent.” That distinction matters, and understanding it changes the entire conversation.
Industry Signals Point to Continued Strength in Travel Demand
Before addressing the confusion, it’s worth establishing what the data actually shows. The signals from across the industry point consistently in the same direction: demand for professional travel services, particularly at the luxury level, remains strong and is growing.
Virtuoso, the world’s leading luxury travel agency network representing over 20,000 advisors in 54 countries, reported that 2024 sales were up 25% from the previous year. Comparing 2024 results with pre-pandemic 2019 figures, sales were up 239%. (link) Their data for the first half of 2025 showed continued momentum, with overall sales rising 12% year over year. High-value bookings exceeding $50,000 per trip are up 35% compared to 2024. (link)
Demand for professional guidance is also rising. Virtuoso reported a sustained 76% increase in the number of consumers seeking out travel advisors through their website. According to their 2025 Global Luxury Traveler Report, 75% of clients say safety and security are of leading importance when planning travel, with 65% citing the added layer of protection an advisor provides as a top benefit, surpassing perks like upgrades and exclusive access. (link)
More broadly, Deloitte’s 2025 travel outlook found that Americans continue to prioritize travel as a core part of their discretionary spending. (link) Even amid affordability concerns, more than half of surveyed Americans planned to travel during the 2025 summer season, with 53% intending to book paid lodging. (link) And within that broader market, roughly one in four travelers met Deloitte’s threshold for luxury travelers. (link)
These are not the indicators of an industry in decline. They are the indicators of an industry in transition.
If Demand Is Strong, Why Does Everyone Say Travel Agents Are Dying?
This is the question worth sitting with.
If the data shows growth, if luxury bookings are climbing, if consumers are actively seeking out advisors, then why does the “travel agents are dying” narrative persist?
Part of the answer is that public narratives often lag behind how industries actually evolve. The image many people have of a travel agent still involves a desk in a strip mall, printing airline tickets and flipping through brochures. That version of the profession has largely disappeared. But what replaced it looks very different, and the language hasn’t caught up.
The term “travel agent” is used as a broad label that encompasses everything from an automated booking tool to a highly specialized luxury advisor managing six-figure itineraries. When someone says “travel agents are dying,” they’re often referring to one end of that spectrum. When industry data shows growth, it’s often reflecting what’s happening at the other end.
This matters because growth and decline can happen simultaneously in different parts of the same profession.
The segments that relied on simple transactions have contracted. The segments built on advisory relationships, professional judgment, and complex coordination have expanded. Both things are true at the same time.
Understanding this distinction is the key to making sense of the conflicting narratives.
The Difference Between Transactional Travel Agents and Advisory Roles
The travel industry, like many industries, has segmented over time. And not all segments have followed the same trajectory.
On one end of the spectrum are purely transactional roles. These are the roles that primarily involved executing tasks clients could increasingly do themselves: comparing airfare, booking standard hotel rooms, processing straightforward reservations. When online booking platforms emerged and made these tasks accessible to anyone with an internet connection, the value proposition of the transactional agent weakened. This is the segment that has contracted, and understandably so.
On the other end are advisory roles. These involve understanding client needs at a deeper level, designing complex itineraries, coordinating across multiple suppliers and time zones, managing risk, and taking accountability for the overall experience. The luxury travel advisor operates in this space. Their work isn’t something a booking engine replicates, because the value isn’t in the transaction itself. It’s in the judgment, coordination, and client advocacy that surrounds it.
The distinction isn’t about old versus new, or outdated versus modern. It’s about the nature of the value being provided. When the primary value is information retrieval or price comparison, technology does it faster and cheaper. When the primary value is professional judgment, relationship management, and accountability for complex outcomes, technology doesn’t replace the need. It may change how the work gets done, but it doesn’t eliminate the role.
This is why the question “are travel agents dying?” doesn’t have a simple yes or no answer. It depends entirely on which part of the profession you’re asking about.
Why Luxury Travel Advisors Are Experiencing Growth
The growth in advisory roles isn’t accidental. It’s driven by specific characteristics of luxury travel that create genuine demand for professional guidance.
Luxury travel involves complexity that most clients don’t want to manage themselves. A multigenerational family trip to multiple countries, a honeymoon that includes both a safari and a beach destination, a milestone celebration that requires coordinating private guides, restaurant reservations, and special experiences across different time zones. These are not trips that lend themselves to a few clicks on a booking platform.
The financial stakes are also significant. When a trip costs $20,000, $50,000, or more, the cost of getting it wrong is real. Clients want someone accountable for the outcome. They want someone who will anticipate problems, resolve issues when they arise, and ensure the experience matches the investment.
This is why the luxury travel advisor’s value isn’t information. Clients have access to more travel information than ever before. What they don’t have is the professional judgment to evaluate it, the supplier relationships to leverage it, and the operational capability to execute on it seamlessly.
The data reflects this. Virtuoso’s numbers show that advance bookings for high-value trips continue to rise, that consumers are seeking advisor relationships in growing numbers, and that the average booking window sits at 122 days, reflecting the kind of thoughtful, complex planning that benefits from professional guidance. (link)
This also explains why LinkedIn continues to rank the travel advisor role among its fastest-growing professions. The demand isn’t for people who can book flights. It’s for professionals who can become trusted luxury travel advisors, managing complexity, building relationships, and delivering experiences that justify the investment.
What About AI? Will It Replace Travel Advisors?
The rise of artificial intelligence adds another layer to the conversation, and it’s a reasonable question to ask. AI-powered tools from companies like Google, Expedia, and OpenAI are becoming increasingly capable at handling travel-related tasks. Deloitte found that generative AI usage for travel planning tripled over two years, reaching 24% of travelers by late 2025. (link)
But here’s what’s important to understand: AI primarily replaces tasks, not relationships.
People who want to book their own travel have been doing so for years. Online booking platforms have existed for over two decades. The travelers who prefer to handle everything themselves were never the primary clients of luxury travel advisors in the first place. AI makes self-service travel planning faster and more capable, but it doesn’t fundamentally change who wants professional guidance and why.
A Forbes Advisor survey found that 71% of travelers said they value human support when things don’t go as planned. (link) This aligns with what Virtuoso’s data shows: that the top reason clients cite for using an advisor is the added layer of protection and accountability, not convenience or information access.
AI doesn’t negotiate with suppliers on a client’s behalf. It doesn’t leverage years of established relationships to secure upgrades or resolve problems. It doesn’t sit with a client to understand the emotional significance of a trip and translate that into an itinerary that reflects what actually matters to them. And it isn’t accountable when something goes wrong.
In North America, only 20% of travel professionals expect AI to eventually replace them, according to a 2025 global study by RateHawk. (link) The majority see AI as a tool that enhances their work rather than one that eliminates it.
AI will almost certainly change how advisors work. It may automate research, streamline administrative tasks, and improve efficiency. But for the segment of travelers who choose to work with a professional because their travel matters to them, the need for human judgment, trust, and accountability isn’t going away.
What This Means for Someone Considering the Career Today
For anyone evaluating whether to become a luxury travel advisor, the picture is clearer than the online noise might suggest.
The opportunity still exists. The data confirms that. But it doesn’t exist in every form the profession has historically taken.
Success in today’s market depends on operating as a professional advisor, not a transaction processor. Clients who need someone to book a straightforward flight or hotel room have tools for that. Clients who need someone to design, coordinate, and take accountability for meaningful travel experiences are looking for a professional they can trust.
This means training, systems, and professional standards matter more than ever. The advisors who build sustainable businesses are those who develop real expertise, invest in industry relationships, and operate with the kind of structure and professionalism that justifies a client’s trust.
The career rewards those who understand what clients actually value and who are willing to deliver at that level consistently. For those who approach it with that clarity, the market is there.
Travel Agents are Not Disappearing.
Travel agents are not disappearing. But the profession has evolved, and continuing to use a single label for what is now a highly segmented industry creates confusion.
The transactional end of the spectrum has contracted, and that contraction is real. Technology made many of those tasks unnecessary. But the advisory end of the spectrum has grown, driven by increasing demand for professional guidance in complex, high-value travel.
The confusion comes from language, not reality.
When the data is examined clearly, the picture is straightforward: demand for luxury travel is strong, consumers are seeking out advisor relationships in growing numbers, and the profession continues to appear among the fastest-growing careers on major platforms.
For those considering the career, the question isn’t whether travel agents are dying. The question is which version of the profession you’re looking at. The advisors who understand this distinction, and who position themselves on the advisory side of it, are the ones building businesses that grow.
That’s not a dying profession. That’s a profession that has changed. And for those willing to meet it where it is now, the opportunity is very much alive.