Travel industry resilience: Avenue Two CEO Josh Bush on facing challenges: Travel Weekly

NASHVILLE — Travel advisors are facing economic and political challenges, but Avenue Two Travel CEO Josh Bush says the industry’s resilience will prevail.

“We’re obviously living in very uncertain times: tariffs, economic volatility, increased visa and border restrictions, political unrest and discontent,” Bush said on stage at the W Nashville on April 15. “They all present headwinds, challenges to our business. And while maybe years ago, I would be a little bit more cautious than I am today, I know for certain that this too shall pass.”

Bush spoke at Avenue Two’s Collective, a gathering of employees, independent contractors and suppliers now in its fourth year.

“We’ve lived through Covid,” he said. “We’ve lived through 9/11. We’ve lived through other global financial crises, and I’m optimistic and excited for the future because I know we’ve got this. And that’s because what we do every single day is make people’s lives better, and the best part of it is that we get to do it all together, collectively.”

In an interview during the Collective, Bush said clients are still booking big trips, but the booking window is not as lengthy as it had been the last couple of years. Clients are more cautious, waiting a bit longer to book.

People are still traveling, he said. He also predicted a lot of Avenue Two’s high-end clients would be mostly unaffected by economic tumult.

“A lot of them are already in the finance area, and when there’s market volatility, it might drive you and me crazy, but this is when they’re making money,” Bush said.

One concern he does have, though, is a potential market shift if countries become less receptive to Americans. If that happens, Bush predicted more domestic travel. People enjoy traveling domestically to beaches and national parks, as was learned during the pandemic when borders closed.

“If anything, the nice thing about being on our side is that we’re still going to facilitate travel, whether it’s to Florida and Wyoming and Montana, or whether it’s to Italy, France, South Africa, Thailand, whatever it might be,” he said.

Craig Bush, the agency’s chairman and Josh’s father, said he’s been talking to advisors about how their clients are reacting. For the most part, he said, they still want to do international travel and hope they will be welcomed. 
“I’d like to think that the [positive] person-to-person reactions are still going to be there,” Craig said. “Hopefully that’s different from what governments are talking about.”

Forbes Travel Guide endorsement 

On stage at the Collective, Josh Bush highlighted Avenue Two’s endorsement from Forbes Travel Guide. Since 2023, FTG has endorsed agencies, and Avenue Two was the first endorsed agency. There are currently 55 FTG-endorsed travel agencies.

“It’s a seal of approval, one that signifies our dedication to providing exceptional travel experiences that sets us apart in the very competitive world of travel and tourism,” Bush said. 

Avenue Two will be among the first agencies to use FTG’s new platform for advisors, Meridian, which will offer advisors tools like itinerary creation, client communication, streamlined VIP requests and AI tools. It will also be a vehicle for early commission payment from FTG hotel partners.

Richard Lebowitz, FTG’s senior vice president of travel industry outreach, said Avenue Two was FTG’s first endorsed agency because “its core values are very much aligned with Forbes Travel Guide — we share a commitment to service excellence, a culture of continuous improvement. We’re dedicated to elevating the role of travel advisors.”

Today, advisors have access to a portal that enables them to alert hotel general managers when their clients are staying. It’s about recognition and awareness, Lebowitz said. Meridian will take the portal to the next level with its tools for advisors, including its early commission payments. Another highlight, he said, is its use of FTG data that’s vetted and trusted.

Avenue Two is aligned with other tools that provide similar features, like TripSuite’s CRM and itinerary builder. Lebowitz said Meridian is simply another option for advisors. 

“Choice is good,” he said. “We have looked at those products and those platforms. We hope to be able to provide an experience that, in our opinion, might be better.”