Travel agents to inspire consumers or just sell holidays
By Darren Cronian on Sunday, October 4th, 2009

A question that has been bugging me for a little while is about the role of a traditional travel agent. I recently wrote about some of the frustrations that consumers have with booking holidays and often one of the biggest challenges is to find a holiday destination that everyone you want to visit.

Travel agents to inspire consumers or just sell holidays

Online they are tons of inspiration sites which do help, but what about those consumers who do not have access to the internet, or do not have the time to be inspired online. I have walked into a travel agency and they have assumed that I know where I want to go on holiday, a shocker huh.

Travel agents role is to sell or inspire

This isn’t always the case. I might have a week off work and I just want some sunshine, a budget and I want the travel agent to inspire me. Often I have walked into a travel agency and I have got the impression that they want me make the sale with as minimum work as possible.

I think that there is too much focus on selling and not enough on inspiring consumers.

Lack of time

There have been occasions where that’s not been the case, but it’s rare. Realistically, travel agents probably do not have the time to spend trying to find consumer’s their dream destination when they have a queue of customers wanting to be served and helped.

Add your answers to this discussion

So my question really is do travel agents see themselves as sales people, or that they need to inspire consumers who walk through their door. I am interested in reader’s answers on this question. If you are a consumer what have your experiences been when needing some inspiration by a travel agent.


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9 responses to “Travel agents to inspire consumers or just sell holidays”

Murray Harrold | 4 October, 2009 at 8:14 pm

A dichotomy!

Too many people to serve? I thought everyone used the internet, these days…

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Nick | 5 October, 2009 at 10:28 am

Depends on the travel agency Darren, some mostly chains act like a booking centre (not all some have good staff) where most Independents like to provide service.

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Julia | 6 October, 2009 at 10:14 am

To answer your question as a travel agent, we can inspire and enthuse as much as we can. Eventually you keep repeating yourself, then at some point you loose the will to live and need a holiday – so you go to an agent to inspire and enthuse you and the circle continues.

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Ashsmi | 6 October, 2009 at 11:35 am

I find that independent agencies seem to be better, the big agencies dont need the money so much as they have other things behind them, the independents need to get u to travel

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Deborah | 6 October, 2009 at 8:52 pm

I only inspire. If I make a sale than that is great. When I ONLY inspire, 8 out of 10 times I make the sale with out having to be pushy. I have been in jewelry sales and travel sales all through my life. The non-pushy approach works best for me. Inspire, knowledge, customer service and caring is what will keep a travel consultant thier jobs, The others will not make it.

Deb

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Marcia | 7 October, 2009 at 2:14 am

As an independent travel agent, I’d like to think I inspire. When a client comes to me with their wishlist, my goal is to determine that one special place that will make them the happiest. Of course I’m hoping they will book their vacation with me, but I feel first I have to earn their trust. This is what a travel agent does. As for the gentleman who thought “everyone used the internet these days”; I hope you never have to spend a single day of a long-awaited vacation looking out of your “ocean-view” window at a tiny speck of blue while listening to the screams of toddlers at play in the “adults-only” jacuzzi.

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Rob | 9 October, 2009 at 10:50 am

Travel agents are best at inspiring people to travel when they have been on a familiarisation trip and have first hand knowledge of the resort they are selling.

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Chris | 9 October, 2009 at 2:03 pm

I don’t know how a travel agent can make ends meet on the commissions they get. I can imagine there is a time crunch as people have said about how much time to devote to a particular area. I also have found that friends who are travel agents may be well versed in travel rather than well traveled per say. I always thought that helping you find the best travel destination was my job. :-)

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David Z | 22 October, 2009 at 5:23 pm

Agreed with Julia and Nick. It depends on the travel agency, and some do indeed serve to inspire.

But…I think the big Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Expedia do more of making sales. Just my opinion, of course.

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