The only verifiable fact available in this item is the headline itself: an opinion piece published by RealClearMarkets argues that American travel agents are thriving, and addresses American realtors with a pointed comparison.

The article's framing — "Dear American Realtors, American Travel Agents Are Thriving" — positions travel retail as a counterexample for another commission-based profession that has spent the past two decades watching distribution shift toward self-service online platforms.

The syndication feed underlying this item did not carry the article body, so no bookings figures, agency revenue data, market-sizing estimates, or named operators from the original piece could be verified at the time of publication. Any numbers attributed to the column should be checked against the RealClearMarkets original before being cited.

What can be said with confidence is the editorial thrust: the author treats US travel agents as a sector in growth rather than decline, a claim that runs against the post-1990s narrative of disintermediation by online travel agencies and direct booking.

For travel sellers, the piece matters primarily as a data point in the ongoing debate over whether human intermediaries are reclaiming share of bookings — and whether other commission-based industries, residential real brokerage among them, face the same pressures travel retail has already absorbed. Readers should treat the column's thesis as an argument to be tested against ASTA membership figures, agency revenue reporting, and supplier commission data rather than as a measured result.