Australian Travel Industry Association rejects claims in latest KPMG Report

The latest KPMG report references a 10-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.

The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) has rejected claims in KPMG’s latest research report that the travel agent profession is in decline, describing the findings as misleading and disconnected from both real-time industry activity and government-backed projections.

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%, and more than a third of the workforce had been let go as international travel ground to a halt.

That shortfall is still being felt today, with accredited travel businesses across the country reporting persistent skills shortages. However, 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% over the next five years and nearly 10% within the next decade.

More than 70% of international air sales and over 90% 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.

ATIA Chief Executive Dean Long notes “we are in 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.”

“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.

“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.”

“This demand is reinforced by Jobs and Skills Australia data which projects the sector will grow by nearly 10% over the next decade.”