Ms. Sullivan has been in the leisure travel industry for 25 years and provides marketing and industry relations consulting services for suppliers and retail organizations. Her responsibilities include advisory board building and management, focus group moderation, trade public relations and marketing plans, development of travel agency programs, and other services for top travel industry organizations. Mary Pat's past clients include: American Express Travel Related Services, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Northstar Travel Media, Passport Online Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Tauck World Discovery, Walt Disney Travel Company, Phocuswright Inc., The Travel Industry Association, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, and others.
Previously vice president, marketing communications with The Travel Institute, she has also been a member of the travel industry publishing community since 1988. Mary Pat was publishing director of leisure travel news of Travel Counselor Magazine (The Travel Institute's official journal) and ASTA Agency Management Magazine, and began her career as a beat reporter covering Mexico. Mary Pat spent more than a dozen years in various reporting, editorial management and publishing roles. As part of her professional development, she earned her CTC in 1996 as part of The Travel Institute's first Executive Institute.
Mary Pat was on The Travel Institute Board of Trustees for six years and has held national posts on the Board of Directors of the Travel Industry Association, the national advisory board of the Academy of Travel and Tourism, and the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Leisure Advisory Board.
Areas of Research
Mary Pat's positions as a consultant and publisher make her an expert voice in the travel industry. Her insight provides guidance for major travel companies to navigate the complex leisure travel marketplace.
U.S. Cruise Market Report 2020-2024
Category: Market Overview & Sizing Published: February 2021 Analysts: Mary Pat Sullivan, Michael Coletta US $795Prior to the pandemic, the cruise industry was arguably the fastest-growing travel segment, until it was stopped dead in its tracks in March 2020. Gross bookings crashed nearly 80% year over year, with...
U.S. Cruise 2019
Category: Market Overview & Sizing Published: February 2020 Analysts: Mary Pat Sullivan, Michael Coletta US $995In 2019, the U.S. cruise segment was projected to top 30 million passengers for the first time ever. Following strong inventory growth, the segment climbed 8% in 2019, with similar gains expected in...
U.S. Cruise and Packaged Travel 2018
Category: Market Overview & Sizing Published: December 2018 Analysts: Michael Coletta, Mary Pat Sullivan, Cathy Walsh US $995The cruise and packaged travel segments are entirely leisure-driven, and each remain heavily dependent on traditional travel agency distribution. In 2018, the cruise market is projected to grow more...
U.S. Travel Agency Distribution Landscape 2016-2021
Category: Market Overview & Sizing Published: November 2018 Analysts: Claudia Unger, Mary Pat Sullivan US $995The rise of the internet, mobile platforms and a plethora of consumer-facing booking options have created an array of challenges for traditional travel agencies. Yet despite predictions to the contrary,...
U.S. Cruise and Packaged Travel
Category: Market Overview & Sizing Published: March 2018 Analysts: Michael Coletta, Mary Pat Sullivan, Maggie Rauch US $995The cruise and packaged travel segments are entirely leisure-driven, and remain the two key segments where traditional travel agents are the most important distribution partners. Because of the overlap...