Representing close to 25 percent of the leisure market, Vacation.com, North America’s leading travel services marketing organization, is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming year after analyzing membership sales reports. Early results from wave season are positive; member agents cite that demand is high with a vast majority of suppliers.

“Many factors are lining up, making us firmly believe that 2010 will be a very good year for our members,” said John Lovell, Vacation.com’s vice president of Sales & Industry Relations. “Momentum that began last September and stayed strong in the fourth quarter has carried over into the new year. Our members are aggressively taking advantage of that momentum with our marketing support, resulting in increased sales.”

The luxury cruise market, in particular, is performing well. Upscale customers are beginning to return, as witnessed by Vacation.com’s luxury cruise suppliers that are expecting upwards to 50 percent growth in 2010. This growth can partly be attributed to an increase in consumer interest due to new ships that have recently entered the market.

"The new ships introduced from Viking River, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Silversea are raising consumer interest nationwide, resulting in more passengers across the whole segment,” added Lovell.

However, Vacation.com finds that passenger increases are being offset by continued yield pressure. Until booking windows open back up, driving up yields will be the main challenge for suppliers in the upcoming year.