Travel agents and the agencies they work for know this well.

They know that their

services remain in need, despite a new latest-and-greatest do-it-yourself travel app
launching every second day.

So what, then, is a travel agent’s selling point?

Is it simply removing the inevitable human error associated with do-it-yourself bookings?

Travel agencies have always leveraged personal service as a selling point for their
business. They collaborate with you, the traveller, in crafting a trip that is tailored to your
wants and needs. They also leverage their existing personal relationships with
suppliers, like hotels and airlines, to deliver this package to you.

As Anne Scully of McCabe World Travel says, “If [travellers] book themselves, they’re
just a credit card number.”

“I make a point of knowing the general manager of the hotel where they might be
staying,” she says. “I usually call the GM the night before one of my clients arrives and
see if they might be upgraded. If they book with a good agent, they’re known on arrival.”

However, as mentioned above, booking a room through a platform like Airbnb can be an
even more personalised experience. Travellers deal directly with the owner of the room,
who often occupies the house with them and acts as a host during their stay. This
presents a whole other suite of potential limitations and issues, however the personal
service remains.

Travel Agents Market Research Reports & Industry Analysis

The travel agent industry consists of companies whose primary goal is to market travel
services by providing the services of booking and arranging travel tours and
accommodations to general and commercial clients. The services of travel agents are
primarily engaged for include reservations and tickets for lodging and flights while
traveling, as well as arranging packaged tours and cruises. Travel agents are also able
to arrange auto rentals, set up travel insurance, and help with the monetary exchanges
for international travel. The revenue of the travel agent industry is made of up the fees
charged for their services, and what services the client requests. This industry
possesses a well-established base of suppliers.

The demand for travel agents relies on a number of factors: economic growth, business
and leisure travel, consumer income, airline seat availability, technological
developments, and the price of jet fuel. The primary costs this industry has to cope with
include computer services and telecommunication services. As many consumers are
more often turning to online booking services, computer access is imperative, and will
online services will increase overall profitability.

Independent travel agencies depend on their marketing strategies to effectively appeal

to the consumer and thus general a profit. Smaller companies put emphasis on catering
to a small amount of large clientele, and serving a specific locale. Large travel agencies
focus on corporate clients, and are able to provide a broad spectrum of services, as well
as operate elaborate websites to promote their services.

Market Analysis Summary 

Travel industry is an upward growth industry. There are several reasons for this
increase. First, a relative healthy domestic economy over the last several years and the
devaluation of currency in other regions has made travel less expensive for U.S.
residents. Pleasure travel has increased by 3.2% in 1999 and is predicted to grow 2.0%
in 2000. Second, the healthy economy has increased business, which in turn boosted
domestic business travel 4.8% in 1999 with an estimated increase of 3.6% in 2000.

Adventure travel is a growing segment of the travel industry. One theory of the recent
increase in extreme sports has to do with the strong competitive nature of younger
Americans. Statistics show that 8,000 U.S. companies (that offer adventure
packages) generated $7 billion in 1999. There also has been a 66% increase in
executive participation between 1996 and 2000 (or an increase of 2,000 participants)(La
Franco, Robert. Forbes, Feb 9, 1998 v161 n3 p168(3)).

Who is Our Competition?

Why we beat online travel sites and home-based travel agents

Had you heard that the internet killed travel agencies? Not so. Not at all. If you just want a
flight, a hotel, or a car, you can probably find and buy what you need online — especially if
you are traveling within the country. But once your travel plans get a more complicated, the
internet stops being a “convenient shopping place” and becomes more of a maelstrom of
confusion.

According to Cruise Lines International Association, an organization that conducts continual

analysis of the industry, 70% of cruise guests book their cruises through a travel agent.

Cruisers prefer to book their vacations with the help of an agent — while cruising is popular,
it isn’t cheap. Customers want to be sure that they are getting every penny’s worth out of
what they spent on their vacation. One of the great things about cruise vacations — but
also one of the reasons they can be complex to book — is that there are so many options
for destinations and excursions. There are myriad details and options to sift through, and an
experienced agent can guide a customer through the process to build their dream vacation.

The guidance we offer clients, paired with the deals we are able to negotiate, mean that
online travel companies are not major competitors for Expedia Cruises franchisees. In
reality, they are an ally. Cruisers often start their research online, then they come to us for
help sorting out the details. As part of the Expedia® family, we are able to pair our
specialized knowledge of cruise vacation planning with the resources of one of the world’s
largest travel brands. We are leaders in the cruise travel market, and thanks to Expedia, we
also have the tools to help customers arrange the rest of their travel at great value, too.