In today’s digital world where information is available to us at the tip of our fingers – through our devices- travel enthusiasts may ask, “Why are Travel Agencies Important?”. While it makes sense to ask this question, the essence of travel agencies cannot be ignored as they play a very important role in the tourism market, even in today’s digital world.
Travel agencies – especially those with years of experience – have established relationships with travel suppliers over time. This way, they can make deals that help you save money, which you won’t have access to without the agency. This is a stand-out benefit, in addition to their basic service offerings.
Basic service offerings travel agencies bring to the table include booking flights, making hotel reservations, planning your activities, local transportation, and travel insurance. This way, you can focus on other responsibilities while the travel agency does all that time-consuming travel planning.
Having had 2 years of experience in the travel industry, I have worked with multiple travel agents. While it’s possible to navigate your travel plans yourself, it’s ignorance not to recognize the importance of travel agencies. In this blog, we’ll be going deep into the top 5 essential reasons why travel agencies STILL play an important role in the travel industry.
Why are Travel Agencies Important?
1. Expertise and Knowledge
Travel agencies are called this for a reason. It’s their job to know everything about travel. They are experts when it comes to knowing the destinations, accommodation, and travel logistics that would suit their clients perfectly. Travel agencies keep up to date with travel restrictions, ensuring a smooth travel experience for their clients. In these post-COVID times, travel restrictions are changing all the time. Not every piece of information is available online hence, it is beneficial to consult with a travel agency.
The expertise of agents transcends beyond booking flights and hotels, they provide valuable advice from their wealth of knowledge and experience.
2. They Save Time
This goes without saying however, it’s a very important point. Travel agencies provide their clients with lots of time to focus on their jobs or other activities by taking care of all arrangements needed to be made. An agency can eliminate hours of online research which typically involves navigating different websites, videos, etc, to make the best travel decision. They take care of the flight tickets, accommodation, planning itineraries, and everything involved in your travel.
Furthermore, they provide what can be likened to customer support throughout the travel process. Handing over your travel plans to an experienced and qualified agency means that you can go about your daily activities as usual and still end up having an amazing travel experience.
3. Assistance in Emergencies
When traveling, things may not exactly go as planned sometimes. Flights may get canceled, your hotel reservation may be missing, there may be medical emergencies, or even worse, a HURRICANE! Travel agents spend years developing long-term relationships with business owners and in such situations, they are invaluable due to their network and knowledge. For instance, if a flight gets canceled, a travel agent will most likely have direct access to the airline officials to get this problem sorted with a few phone calls. For others who booked online, they would have to scramble through long queues to get this problem sorted which can be quite a hassle.
Agents remain accessible throughout your travel, making sure that you always have them on speed dial should any issue come up. By having travel agents available, travelers can feel reassured and prepared for any emergencies at every point.
4. Access to Exclusive Deals
Travel agents provided access to exclusive deals that are not available anywhere else. Travel agents engage in the purchase and sale of tours and related services for travel, securing low rates and discounts for their clients due to their connections. There is a misconception about agents being more expensive than when travel is planned yourself through extensive research online. While this may be true in some cases, many agents offer travel packages specific to the client’s requirements, which saves money at the end of the day.
5. Personalized Service
Travel agents provide services specific to the requirements of their clients. As a business that helps individuals and groups plan, book, and execute trips, agents customize their services to meet the unique demands of each client. This requires the agent to take their time to understand the travel history, budgets, preferences, overall travel expectations,s and preferences of the client to come up with a travel plan that suits the specifications of the client.
With the right agent, you can rest assured your travel will be planned to your liking especially if your agent pays attention to details and is committed to customer satisfaction.
As we wrap this blog up, I would like to address one question I have observed that some people ask a lot which is regarding the functions of a travel agency.
Travel Agency Functions
We have already discussed many functions of travel agencies in this blog however, here are 5 key functions that set them apart as experts in their field:
- Offering 24/7 support
- Providing Visa and Passport assistance
- Offering Travel Insurance
- Booking flights, reserving accommodations, and planning local transportation
- Planning Itineraries
These and many more, sum up the functions of travel agents which makes them in the best position to plan your trip.
To conclude, travel agents remain relevant in our modern times. They remain great assets due to their knowledge, connections, and other perks that come along with them. If you’re on the fence about either hiring a travel agent or planning your travel yourself, read more about traditional travel agencies and online travel agencies here. I wish you an amazing travel experience.
