Travel Agency, The Travel Middle Man

The travel needs of the travelling people of this world, both leisure and business,have been put into question by themselves and by the public at large.
My feelings are that the travelling public feels generally that they can get a better “deal” by booking the travel themselves on the internet, please read cheaper, than they can by booking their holiday through a travel agency or they will pay more booking through a travel agent.

Well the answer to that myth is they can't and they won't. The travel suppliers of the products, the cruise lines, air lines and the very large travel agents, who are in fact the competition of the small person travel agency, are forced by contract to offer their product at the same price as they are selling the product being sold to the smaller agencies and also pay the small travel agencies a commission based on the assumption of volume from that travel agency.

Now I must be honest and say that the internet does have quite a number of sites that promote “Cheap Travel”. Well, what is the product that these cheap travel sites are selling and why are these products perseved to be cheaper than the travel product that is available from a TICO registered travel agent?

You will notice that almost always, the departure dates for these products are very frequently, immediate. Some things need to be explained about these cheap holidays. First, these products are purchased from a large supplier in bulk and as the time gets closer to the departure date, rather than get stuck with bearing a loss on the product that is not sold, the owners of these trips will discount the price to recoup some of the money this product cost them. Theoretically, that is not a bad idea except when you consider that the product that is left is product that no one else wanted, the less desireable cabins on the ship or the suites in the resort are in less desireable areas or even with environmental problems if the resort is over booking.

Would it be a fair assumption to think that most of the travelling public would want to get assistance in making the decision on deciding where they want to take their holiday, when they want to go, where they want to go, how much they want to pay for the value they will receive and that there will be assistance if any of their plans don't go as they thought they should. The best issue is that it costs the family nothing over and above the published rate or lead in price for that trip.

Another factor is that no time is needed to research all the areas and issues that travellers should be aware of when visiting foreign countries. Another point is that all companies are looking to cut their costs so the etickets will arrive on the internet just as if you had used all the time to research and book the holiday yourself but of course, no time was required.

Now getting back to where I started, the modern travel agency is a middle man who gets the needs, wants, desires and the amount the travelling family wish to spend on their holiday, get the problem so to speak, and in a very short period of time, provide the solution for the family to consider.

The fact is that the earlier a family starts to look in a particular travel area, the more likely they will get what they want, when they want, where they want and at the price they want to pay. It is the responsibility of a good travel agent to moniter the price fluctuations on that travel route and if the price is reduced for wharever reason prior to departure, the reduction will be given to the booking family. There is not a computer in the world that will do that!

There are a number of benefits from using a TICO registered travel agency and a TICO qualified travel agent, but that is a subject for further discussions.