Changing the Rules for Group Travel
by Carl Meadows
(President -- Association of Group Travel Organizers International)

The world’s travel and tourism industry is in for a group travel “boom” that will continue for the next 15 to 20 years.

As veteran travel industry professionals, most of us know that radical transitions in the travel business (such as online bookings) have changed the way people think about travel -- and that traditional travel agents represent only a small portion of the group travel market. The new travel paradigm I’m seeing simply means that more and more people are traveling in the company of other like-minded people who share highly specialized, niche interests and who want customized travel itineraries. Americans want to travel more often, and they know they can get more for their dollar if they take advantage of group rates and pricing. The good news is that this phenomenon is as true for luxury travel as it is for budget travel.

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