The so-called “re-emergence” of the popularity of travel agents has been reported across multiple articles sighting multiple studies, just a few of which I will touch on here.
SureSave travel insurance recently released its latest findings from the 2017 Travel Insurance Index. Conducted annually over the past six years, the research monitors Australian travellers’ views on booking travel, insurance and the role of travel agents. This year the survey revealed a very favourable outcome with headline results stating ‘Travel Agents are more relevant than ever’, citing that three quarters of Australian travellers view travel agents as a “trusted source of travel and safety advice”, a major increase over the 57% figure recorded in 2012.
This research also found that travel agencies are holding their own against OTAs with 40% of Australians booking their last overseas leisure trip with a travel agent, either in-store, over the phone or via email, just 2% lower than online only bookings. This study also found that customers are coming back to use agents time and time again as they genuinely seek and value the level of knowledge and expertise that agents offer.
Journalist Lee Tulloch recently penned an article titled ‘Agents are the Project Managers of your next holiday’ answering the question of ‘Is it worthwhile using a travel agent?’ with a resounding ‘yes it is’. And it seems she was right on the money with Forbes recently confirming it with an article titled ‘Now more than ever you need to find a good travel agent’.
Forbes contributor Doug Gollan reported that there is solid evidence emerging of a younger generation of consumers using travel agents and he notes that is it not surprising given they’re often a demographic willing to pay for expertise in other areas such as personal trainers. The younger demographic of travellers see agents as experts who can help them improve the quality of their travel experiences and are willing to seek out knowledge to achieve that perceived ‘higher quality’ of experience and not be as concerned about getting everything for the lowest possible price.
So there is growing evidence to support the view – that not only are travel agents highly valuable, but they are growing in popularity in the face of a service free digital world. Not only that, but according to The Australian Business Insider, “Travel Agents are becoming cool again” too!
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Article provided by Andrew Burnes, CEO & Managing Director, Helloworld Travel Limited.