Travel agents were supposed to be extinct, yet many still thrive. How? By saving you time, giving peace of mind and providing customized, professional advice. Read the article on my blog at http://fredericgonzalo.com/2013/10/07/3-reasons-to-still-deal-with-a-travel-agent-in-2013/

1. 3 reasons to still deal with a
travel agent in 2013?
Frédéric Gonzalo

2. In this age of internet and social media, the travel agent
is said to be an endangered species. Most statistics
indeed seem to confirm a lasting trend:
1. In Spain, there were 6,075 travel agencies in 2012. This
represents a loss of one third compared to just five years
earlier, when there were 9,127 travel agencies in 2007.
2. If one looks at the ratio of travel agency per number of
citizens, the situation is just as alarming. In Spain, there is
now 1.29 travel agency (point of sale) per 10,000
citizens, while this ratio is down to 1.2 in Germany and 0.8 in
France!
3. In Canada, it is estimated that more than half of all travel
agencies vanished between 1996 and 2006.
But …

3. CHANGING ROLE
• Truth be told, we no longer go to travel agents for
information alone, as there are countless
websites, social platforms such as Youtube and
Pinterest for aspirational videos and photos, not
to mention user review sites like Yelp and
Tripadvisor to gather a better opinion about a
destination and specific hotels, restaurants or
attractions. In this context, the travel agent role
has evolved into that of a consultant, helping
with the decision process and adding value along
the way. Here are three ways this can take place:

4. 1. Save Time
It may sound ironic, but with all the
technology available at our finger
tips, including countless mobile
applications now providing all sorts of
detailed information from things to
do, to weather and local maps, one
might think we can sort out a trip in no
time. Yet, Expedia Media Solutions
recently found that the average
packaged-travel purchase takes place
after
38
visits
to
various
websites, from the DMO (destination
marketing
organization,
at
country, regional or city levels), to OTA
(online
travel
agencies,
i.e.
Expedia, Booking.com), and various
hotel sites.

5. While many may find the process fun, there is a growing
crowd not interested in wasting time visiting close to 40 sites
before deciding upon an upcoming trip. A savvy travel agent
usually knows where to look and has access to central
reservation systems allowing to tap into latest availabilities
and promotional rates, and will come back to a customer with
3-4 best options to choose from. Time is money, as the saying
goes, so time saved here can be better used dreaming of the
next trip, or buying sunscreen!

6. 2. Peace of Mind
• The US Government is shutting
down, so what happens to those
reservations for 3 nights in a National
Park? You are headed for France and
you hear the national train company
(SNCF) is about to start a massive
strike, halting all trains for an undefinite
period of time? You arrive at your
destination and find out the hotel you
were supposed to stay at is either
overbooked or, worse, is still under
construction with half the rooms
unavailable? From Icelandic volcanoes
to airlines going bankrupt leaving
passengers stranded, horror stories
abound in the tourism world, even
though we prefer to forget about them.
A travel agent can become a lifeline in
such cases.

7. But things don’t have to be
catastrophic in order to get peace of
mind from a travel agent. In
fact, while most simple transactions
don’t require a travel agent
nowadays, i.e. a local reservation
with a known airline, car rental
company or accommodation, it’s
when the itinerary becomes more
complex that things can get
complicated. If you wish to travel
three weeks in South Africa or in
Asia, with different types of
accommodations, a rail journey or a
local cruise experience, then trying
to figure it all out alone is a much
more daunting task. Here again, a
good travel agent will provide you
with recommendations, ensuring
peace of mind through expertise you
perhaps don’t have.

8. 3. Personalized advice
More importantly, a good travel agent is one that
understands your needs and wants, and that can go
as far as to anticipate what you’d want from an
upcoming travel experience. Last December, I dealt
with my travel agent for a complex request: a multigeneration vacation in the Carribbean, during
Christmas time. We wanted to have an affordable
yet memorable experience, with 13 people
travelling, adults and kids ranging from 3 to 76
years old.
My agent filtered the first selection, suggesting a
chosen few resorts from which we did our
validation via Tripadvisor. From our discussions, she
understood what we were looking after, so she
made room arrangements ensuring we paid
less, were grouped in the same area of the hotel
and even logged in a call with the director of sales
(a friend of hers) to get us an upgrade once on the
premises. We even got our seats confirmed on the
flight at no additional cost… all little things that add
up and contribute to delivering a better overall
travel experience.

9. Relationship
is Key
I find the travel agent role has
changed much like the way a car
salesman has as well. We tend to
gather all information regarding
our next car online, read reviews
and discuss with friends and
relatives before we ever visit any
car dealership. We enter most
showrooms much more educated
than ever before. Thus, we expect
the salesman to be able to give us
added value in the discussion, or
perhaps assist us with peripheral
aspects
of
warranty
or
financing, for example. Nobody
wants to hear the salesguy tell us
“boy, have I got a model for you!”

10. Likewise, almost nobody enters a
travel agency with no clue of their
next destination. We certainly
expect the travel agent to be savvy
about up and coming travel
trends, and to perhaps give us
some cues following a recent
familiarization trip in a given
destination, but the influence level
certainly isn’t what it once was.
Nevertheless, travel agents in 2013
ought to have a social media
presence where they can share
their recent discoveries, client
testimonials
and
perhaps
promotional offers that can appeal
to their ongoing clientele. Loyalty
marketing and a strong database
management strategy are vital for
travel agents, as acquisition will
always prove much harder than
retention and increasing the shareof-wallet with ongoing clientele.

11. One thing is for sure: agents who add value in
the travel purchase process are those who will
maintain and thrive with their business. Those
who don’t evolve and stick to their old ways of
doing business are doomed for a slow, yet
inevitable downward spiral…

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