will the internet kill off high st. travel agents?

Question

if you know what you want its all there for why go to town and pay more........................ obviously if you aint got access you have no choice apart from teletext

Answer 1

I think that the internet is hurting a lot of really good travel agents and in my opinion, it is a sad thing.

Unfortunately people have a stereotype for travel agents, believing they they have higher prices and such. I think this is one of the biggest problems for most agents. They can't get customers to begin with. But to be honest, I have found that my agent is almost always lower than what I can get elsewhere. She is part of a larger agency, so they may be able to get better rates, but she still is great.

My agent is not in my hometown, she is internet based. So I can contact her anytime I want and I don't even have to leave my home.

For me, a travel agent is always going to be worth using. Regardless if my agents is able to save me money, get me the same rate, or if I even have to spend a little more, she is more than worth it. To have the years of knowledge and experience she has, has proven to be priceless for me in countless situations. I cannot tell you how many different times I was in a situation where air changed or something like that and she was able to take care of it, something I would have never been able to do. So was it worth it to me to use her, absolutely. And I can say that everything that has ever been booked by her was 100% accurate and I have never had a problem. Reading the stores of some "online discounters" such as Expedia, I would just never want to take such a risk.

I think each person is going to have a preference as to how they want things done. Some will want it this way, others another. But for me and my travel needs, the personal help and knowledge of a good travel agent could never be replaced or marked with a price tag.

Answer 2

The internet is killing the travel industry as a whole. While it is more consumer friendly, it is making the entire industry be more competitive. After the implementation of online websites, the airlines quit paying Travel Agents commission. Airlines have had to slash prices to rediculous levels, but in turn, more people are flying. Its just taking more of those peoples fares to pay for the cost to survive and turn a profit.

A travel agent does have some benefits when it comes to vacationing. Most have to go on familiarization trips, so they can tell you first hand experience about an airline or a cruise or vacation destination. You get more personal service, but in turn you are going to pay more than if you did it yourself. It just depends on if you are independant, or like the personal service you receive from a real, live person.

There are pros and cons to everything. But I whole heartedly believe that the invention of the internet was great for consumers, but is killing some businesses.

Answer 3

The internet will kill the lazy ones.

Travel agents are like any other business, if you give good customer service, the customers will come.

A good travel agent, does a lot more than just book hotels and flights. They should be able to help you make good decisions, make sure you have all of the information you need, and be only a phone call away if something goes wrong.

On the other hand the internet is a good tool for the professional agent.

Answer 4

No doubt It will steal some of the potential customers from the general public especially those educated people who are familiar with internet.

Not all people familiar with internet especially the old folks.

Also, reading from the internet may not give you the whole truth.

You still need people to talk to and make necessary arrangement for you if the place you're going to places you're not familiar with.

Answer 5

Travel agents are great if you want to take a very complicated vacations w/multiple flights, hotels, tours, etc. For example, I am taking a two week vacation in Oz/NZ, w/stays in Sydney, Melbourne, Kangaroo Island, Cairns, Blenheim, Rotorua, etc, etc., etc., & numerous tours. No way could I have set this up on my own. However, for a one week stay in Kauai, I found my own accomodations & flights w/no problem. Travel agents & internet have their places in the world (ha!) of travel.

Answer 6

Ihope it literally kills them by shooting some kind of death ray from the computer monitor and fries their brains until their eyes pop out of their stupid smug faces, then i hope it moves on to estate agents and then employment agencies, i'm currently looking for funding to set up a program to do this and finally we can eradicate these scum bags once and for all, come on everybody, we can do it!

Answer 7

Never