In February at an event in New York City, Travel Leaders Network President John Lovell said the “Golden Age of travel advisors is alive and well,” citing the network’s strong 2024 performance (up 17 percent versus 2023). At the network’s EDGE 2025 conference in Las Vegas this week, Lovell reported that sales continue to boom in 2025.
Cruise sales revenue through April for Travel Leaders Network (TLN) are up 14.5 percent versus the same time last year, while land sales are up 6.5 percent. At this point last year, land sales were only up 2.3 percent compared to 2023, a welcome sign that the segment is growing for TLN. Combining those segments, total sales are up 12 percent compared to 2024. And speaking on the first quarter, Lovell said it “was the best we’ve had in history.”
As Eva Damato said at the Luxury Forum (which was held prior to EDGE’s kickoff), despite a volatile marketplace and record-high prices, affluent travelers are still traveling. From what Lovell reported, it appears that all travelers are still traveling. “There’s a lot of noise that created a bit of choppiness that we’ve seen the last two months, but the overall trend is still in a very positive direction,” he told Travel Agent.
Breaking down the sales even further, most segments continue to perform well: River cruise sales are up 29 percent versus the same period in 2024; luxury cruises are up 20 percent, premium cruises 16 percent and contemporary cruises 8 percent. In all, TLN sells about $6 billion in cruises annually, according to Lovell. A surprise guest during the first day’s general session, Richard Branson—when told that number—quipped that he “did not realize how powerful this group of people was.”
Land FIT and touring are up 13 percent over the same period, theme park sales are up 12 percent—driven largely by the debut of Epic Universe at Universal in Orlando this spring—and “fun and sun”—which was the only segment underperforming during the February check-in—is now up 3.7 percent compared to 2024.
While all the May numbers are not in yet, the TLN president said he expects these numbers “to bump up a little bit” once those tallies are completed. In short, it looks like 2025 will be the third straight record year for TLN.
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