Travel Agent – then & now has always been a supportive role in the tourism industry. When there was no internet, people still wanted to plan a vacation or official visit abroad by using a travel agent. I still remember, my father used to plan his trip with the help of Travel Agent in back those days. My father used to be a frequent traveler from the early 70s to the late 90s for his personal and business trip at home and abroad.
Efficiency of Travel Agent
According to my google search, travel agent – then & now always harped hard on tour packages and offers. But in recent times, they do more as there are influxes of tourists every year to optimize their travel requirement. Not long back, I used one of the travel agents for our family vacation trip to Bali, Indonesia in 2015. It was all paid trip in advance but it was worth paying the money because I received every single service whatever I was given in the itinerary. We were all happy by the service given by my travel agent. After my return, I recommended to my peer group about that travel agent’s credibility and efficiency. I really feel good when my peer group takes service from them and gets the same feeling what I received in 2015. That’s why the recommendation is always preferred with your close associate or peer group.
We know that travel agent – then & now was always been middlemen, but they provide value for money advice to you. They give you the best deals that you don’t find in general. I know several travel agents who use tools for their clients to get real data for the purchase decision.
Travel Agent and Traveler both have Become Smarter
Over the years – online booking, travel websites, and the sharing economy have become popular. All those sites have made it easy for us travelers to cut out the travel agent’s commission. Now travelers plan their own trips by booking directly with airlines and hotels. There are also so many deals out there helping us to find cheap airfares and hotel rates. Travel blogs are telling us what to see and do. For the last 2 years or so, I’ve been greatly influenced by travel bloggers’ reviews on food, accommodation.
On the other hand, the travel agent has become smarter than the traveler. Market leader or trendsetter in the tour operating industry has become affiliated to several marketing companies for generating their revenue. But I still take advantage of using the travel agent’s advice for inbound and outbound tourism.
Real-life Example
Travel agents are useful if you’re doing a very costly or complex trip or planning a honeymoon trip. Traveling with a large group for attending business conference also be a complex proposition. To ease this complexity, we definitely need assistance of a travel agent. They have access to a number of deals and bulk buying options, as a commoner we don’t get. Especially when it comes to tours, long-haul interconnectivity flights, and cruises. In my past experience, it’s very easy to book a flight from Dhaka to Kolkata or Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur today. And I do it at least a year. During my North American Trip with family in 2016-2017, I had a very complex route from DHK-DOH-JFK. Later, flight from USA to Canada to USA to Bangladesh – EWR-YYC-LAX-JFK-DOH-DHK – I had to deal with a travel agent from Bangladesh.
Why does traveler appoint Travel Agent?
If you’re traveling with a group of 25 people or more for jungle safari on a cruise, a travel agent can definitely get you a better deal than you can do yourself. Agents come in handy when buying in bulk because they often have access to good deals (this applies to airline tickets too). In my case, I always prefer having travel agents on board. It could be for a jungle safari by cruise or for a family trip in an exotic location. In other word,
Will they exist in future?
In my recent trip to Halong Bay, I used a travel agent who has a relationship with cruise lines. An agent for Majestic Cruise advises me to take their service while I was doing google search from Bangladesh. Truly, the service was good and it was worth paying the money for our 2D/1N cruise to the most visited place in Vietnam. That’s why I always sought for the knowledgeable and reliable travel agent. Till today, I have never fallen in an awkward situation during my travel. Don’t you think that I’m biased with travel agents? Probably yes. Or I’m not. Because 2017 onward, I have used online services for my India Trip, Sri Lanka Trip, and Vietnam Trip. Nowadays thanks to OYO, Airbnb, TripAdvisor or Booking.com, Travelpayouts, and many more like this. If you have any queries, feel free to email me.