A decade of difference
Travel advisors weigh in with their thoughts on how the industry has changed
“People are now returning to agents, but their expectation is that their agent is more than someone who ‘books’ their trip. Agents are now required to be ‘Advisors’, spending more time learning about destinations and their clients, and to provide a solution to what it is their clients is seeking for — the right experience!”
Linda Schulz
Travel Professionals International, Saskatoon, SK
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“I rarely book air only anymore, because clients can do it easily and there is no money in it for an agent. We tend to focus on individual or small group travel with personal itineraries where our in depth knowledge can pay off.”
Barbara Wallace
Uniglobe Enterprise Travel, Toronto, ON
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“I think we are valued more — when online booking became a thing, people thought they could book themselves but now people are coming back to agents as they value our input, opinions and experience.”
Valerie Murphy
Vision Travel, Cambridge, ON
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“We are more on call than ever. People expect an answer instantly. They message you in a very large variety of ways: iMessage, Facebook message, Instagram message, email and phone. It is hard to keep tabs on all these areas.”
Collette Rideout
Travel Time TPI, Paradise, NL
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“You cannot just book reservations for people — they can do that themselves. You have to give them something extra, in my opinion, that is knowledge, service and a genuine interest in them, not just as customers, but as people that matter. My clients are important to me.”
Nancy Wilson
TravelOnly, Kanata, ON
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“Larger focus on managing a client’s expectations. We so much information and misinformation available on line it is increasing challenging to keep in front of what the best travel options are best for each individual client. It is imperative for a Travel Agent to add value and not simply a human booking tool.”
Randy Hughes
TravelOnly, Kincardine, ON
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“Well… this pandemic has brought forward a lot of change that we didn’t have to deal with in the history of ever.”
Erika Norberg
AMA Travel, Calgary, AB
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“The internet used to be feared as the end to travel agents. Quite the contrary. If used to our advantage as an information tool, we can help our clients make informed decisions with sacrificing exceptional customer service. Al ot of focus for me this past decade has been customer retention and referrals. Some of my best business has come from repeat clients that referred their family and friends. Consumers are looking for that something: different… not your regular cookie cutter destinations and more luxury customized vacations.”
Mary LaRocque
Marlin Travel, Peterborough, ON
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“It has become more difficult. More people book online and expect higher level service for less money. Those clients who travel a lot tend to have more money and better expectations and are willing to pay more for better service but they are hard to find. It is harder to run a brick and mortar office and make it pay for itself, although small towns do tend to have more older people who want to sit down face to face with a travel agent and talk rather than using the internet. The commissions are smaller and the perks of being a travel agent are less and many tour operators and airlines do all they can to cut out the travel agent and encourage people to book direct which makes it harder to make a living for Travel Agents.”
