Why Travelers Still Need a Travel Agent

A recent article published by Work + Money has completely missed the mark on the value of a good travel agent, so Travel Market Report has taken on the task of setting the record straight. In response to the publication naming travel agents among the “25 Dying Professions You Should Avoid,” the agency community was quick to debunk the claim, offering up the many reasons why the opposite is true: Travel agents are more relevant than ever before.

The article, which claims online travel booking sites have made “everyone their own personal travel agent these days,” and that the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the number of travel agents will decline by 12 percent over the next ten years, was deemed “laughable” by agents that Travel Market Report spoke to this week.

“It’s far from the truth of where our industry stands,” said Kristen Buckshire, owner of Travel Ease LLC. “Within the family travel niche, I see more and more people turning to travel agents due to two factors: lack of time and increased industry offerings. Today’s parents are short on time between work, kids’ sporting events, homework, etc. It’s hard to find time to sit down and research all of the various travel options out there. This is the point at which most of my clients come to me … I get a call saying they sat down to Google a destination and they instantly felt overwhelmed.”

A personal touch holds weight
Buckshire’s sentiments were mutual across the board, as agents near and far weighed in on why the personal assistance of a travel agent will always be what separates travel advisors from online booking sites.

Roy Gal, a travel agent veteran of 18 years, says he’s tired of hearing year over year that “agents are dinosaurs and our profession is dying, when this has been our best year yet.” Gal says his profession’s greatest asset is the ability to determine if what you see really is what you will get. He is often presented with scenarios where he needs to set the record straight with his clients, who have been surfing the web and feel they are well-informed — only to find out they were misled.

“The ever-changing travel market makes some of the information on the internet obsolete and just not relevant.” Gal points to an example of a recent picture of a hotel property posted on a website that was strikingly different from the one he took recently on a site inspection. “Take a look at the examples below. Only an agent who specializes in a destination and knows the properties can share what the internet never will.”