It may sound provocative, but the title is maybe not too far
from the reality as at 28 years old, I have never booked a single trip with a
traditional travel agent. Even worst, once I went to ask for advice, but ended
up booking my trip online. Shame on me, I know. I hope that this post will be
my redemption.
With a degree in Tourism Management in the pocket and a lot
more maturity, I have now a better view of the added value brought by travel
agents. But first, let’s put the situation in its context.
WHEN THE STORY BEGAN
We have to go back to the 19th century, when a guy called Cook, Thomas Cook, started to organized trips for his clients. Then, with the paid holiday, this market exploded as more and more people were able to travel. Before the internet, being a travel agent meant:
- Give advice to clients
- Book tickets (transport, entertainment) and lodging
- Organize trips
DISINTERMEDIATION AND OTHER SURPRISES THAT BROUGHT THE INTERNET
With the entrance of Mr Internet, John Smith didn’t need
Lisa the travel agent to book his flight to Miami, and Swissair could also sell
tickets directly to him, poor Lisa. No need to move anymore, John had just to
turn on his PC.
Lisa also had to face the arrival of the OTA, the online
travel agencies, such as Expedia. She realized that she was now competing
against giants that are existing only online.
Day after day, Lisa was losing energy. It was harder to open
the doors of her agency every morning. When she was showing the different possibilities
of trips to her clients, she often heard this sentence “but when I visit Kayak.com
the flight that you are showing me is 150£ cheaper!”
When her niece showed her that she organized her trip
entirely by herself, jumping from travel blogs, Tripadvisor and Airbnb to
Facebook, Booking.com and Instagram. It was too much for her. 83% of trips of
UK customers are booked online in 2017?! Does her agency have a chance to
survive?
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| Channel through which UK customers booked a holiday in 2017 |
TODAY…
Hopefully, Lisa didn’t lose faith in her job. She is now
aware that the competition has increased and that she has to fight harder. Today,
she has now a solid strategy.
- In addition to her brick-and-mortar agency, she has now a website
- She tries to maintain the contact with her customers thanks to a regular newsletter and a Facebook account
- She works with influencers
- She knows that she has to put forward her expertise
…AND TOMORROW
Lisa doesn’t want any other bad surprises. She is now taking
part of an online master in Marketing with the University of Exeter, which is a
good tool to help her to forecast the future challenges her job may face. She read about Artificial intelligence, and how it can help a company to customise
its offer, for example how a reception staff, with data on the spa use of John
Smith, might propose him a particular service. However, Lisa was relieved when
she read, in the same article, the following:
A spokesperson for
ABTA, which represents UK travel agents and tour operators, says almost a fifth
of Brits still booked a holiday in a travel store last year and that although
artificial intelligence can help with targeted marketing, “it can be hard to
beat the human touch”.
Lisa decided to update her profile on LinkedIn, changing her
current role from Travel Agent, to Travel Advisor, after reading a post on Forbes. She completely agrees with the statement that says that “Travel
agents represent a dying business that no longer serves customers. Travel
advisors, which provide a professional service, are the future.” She knows she
has to differentiate herself from the sources of information and services that
can be found online.
Lisa is also trying to understand her customer better. She
saw on the following graph that people between 35 and 44 are the most likely to
use her services.
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| Age groups and their preferred methods of booking holidays UK |
She is also relieved when she reads on Skift
that more travelers are using agents than a few years ago, and that research showed
that 19 percent of travelers used an agent in 2016, up from 13 percent in 2013.
This is why Lisa decides not to give up. She will invest in
technologies, as recommended by a marketline report. She believes in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, by showcasing
locations and hotels through in-store headsets or even via mobile devices at
home.
