Theme Parks Are Trending, Advisors Should Be Booking Air and More Takeaways From Travel Leaders’ Edge Conference

From June 8-12, Travel Leaders Network hosted more than 2,000 travel industry professionals at its Edge 2025 International Conference, held at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. 

All signs point to a strong year for the travel advisor organization, which reports rising revenue and strong numbers for both membership (it has added 1,175 new members in the last four years) and bookings. The growing influence of its network landed Travel Leaders a spot on Newsweek and Statista’s 2025 list of America’s Most Reliable Companies — and inspired a surprise appearance by Sir Richard Branson at the conference.

“The organization continues to grow, which means that people see the value in what we do,” said John Lovell, president of Travel Leaders Network, who predicts that 2025 is going to be a “record year” for the organization. 

The organization continues to grow, which means that people see the value in what we do.

Lovell shared that Travel Leaders’ land business is up 6.5% over 2024, a segment that is building more quickly in 2025 than it did last year. The cruise segment is currently 14.5% ahead of 2024 overall, with luxury cruise revenue up 20%, premium up 16% and contemporary up 8%. River cruising in particular is seeing “phenomenal” growth, according to Lovell, with an impressive 29% increase over last year. 

Here are more of the trends being seen across Travel Leaders Network, along with a look at how the organization is continuing to evolve its offerings for members.

Theme Parks Are Hot, Thanks to Epic Universe 

Travel Leaders is seeing a 12% increase in theme park revenue year over year, a development that the executive team attributes to the opening of Universal Orlando Resort’s new Epic Universe, the first new major theme park to open in the United States in more than 20 years. 

RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Universal Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort

The park’s May 22 debut is driving “a lot of volume” into the Orlando market (both to Epic and other area attractions), according to Lovell, who adds that bookings started “flying in” once the opening date was announced.

The ongoing increase in cruise business has also been good for Orlando, with departures out of Port Canaveral, Florida, driving clients to book pre- and post-sailing extensions to visit theme parks.

Canadians Are Changing Their Trips, Not Canceling Them 

Christine James, vice president, Canada for Travel Leaders, reported that while many Canadian travelers are “not comfortable” coming to the U.S. this year, they are shifting their business as opposed to canceling trips. To this end, the network is seeing huge growth in Canadian bookings to Europe, as well as increases in Mexico and Caribbean itineraries.

One noteworthy exception to this trend is cruises to Alaska, which are holding strong, possibly because many sailings depart from Canadian ports. Caribbean cruises out of U.S. ports, on the other hand, are trending down.

Air Is a “Huge Opportunity” for Advisors 

“Air has been ignored [by advisors] for a long time, and it’s a huge opportunity,” said Lindsay Pearlman, COO of Travel Leaders. “It doesn’t make sense for an advisor not to book air.” 

It doesn’t make sense for an advisor not to book air.

Pearlman added that in addition to providing another revenue stream for agents, handling air arrangements for clients helps keep business on the books. In fact, the network has found that cancellation rates drop by 39% when advisors book air for their travelers. 

In order to combat the hesitancy many agents feel about dealing with airfare, the network introduced its Snap booking tool last year, which bundles air, car and hotel bookings, and allows advisors to earn commission on airfare. And Travel Leaders members are getting onboard. 

According to Lovell, Snap has seen the quickest uptake among members of any program in Travel Leaders’ arsenal. The network has seen triple the bookings in Snap this year compared to 2024, a strong sign that the tool is working.

“We’re taking the risk and the liability and helping solve the problems [advisors face when booking airfare],” he said. “I think adoption [among members] will continue, but we’re in a very good position.”

Updates From Travel Leaders 

Following the May launch of Snap for Canadian members, the next big project for the Travel Leaders team is working on better integration with third-party customer relationship managers (CRMs), to more seamlessly pull client data and enhance engagement marketing. 

RELATED: 4 Ways to Use Your CRM That Will Guarantee Success 

“CRM options are exploding across the industry,” said Cory Voss, chief information officer at Travel Leaders, who added that the goal is for members to be able to work with the system that will serve them best.

The network is also seeing great returns from its Agent Profiler lead generation website. It features nearly 20,000 advisor profiles and has seen steady traffic this year, in line with 2024 numbers — a good mark to hold, considering traffic hit an all-time high last year and provided about 300,000 leads, representing some $800 million in sales. What’s more, the team says the quality of the leads being generated for members is better than ever, with an average conversion rate of 25% and bookings averaging more than $10,000.

Last year, the team introduced a “Super Agent” designation on the site, which rewarded advisors who have exceptional profile content with better positioning in search results. Next, the program will be enhanced with “Super Agent Gold” and “Super Agent Diamond” designations, which will offer benefits to higher performing advisors.

For now, advisors can mark their calendars for the 2026 Edge conference, which will take place May 3-6.