U.S. travel agencies in July processed 2 percent more transactions than they did a year earlier, according to ARC.

Total sales increased 2.7 percent, as a 32.3 percent jump in "total taxes and fees" more than offset a 2 percent decline in "total fares." In the domestic U.S. market, fare sales slipped 0.2 percent from July 2011 levels while transaction volume edged upward by 0.9 percent. International fare sales declined 4.4 percent but international transactions increased 5.3 percent. Overall, ARC reported that year-to-date passenger segments processed by U.S. travel agencies inched up 0.2 percent from 2011 but were down 2.3 percent versus 2010.