Hi,
I believe many of us have noticed that travel sites like Expedia, Priceline are really eating the lunch of brick-and-mortar travel agents these days. Personally I still book international tickets through a local agent cause the price is lower. However, I wonder how many of you are still using agents and do you think they will go obsolete in the internet age?
BTW I'm doing a related research on this topic as well. If you are kind enough to take 3 minutes to take this anonymous survey here: http://www.impressity.com/Survey/sl.aspx?SurveyLinkId=efveccoqvrbsrxjzfsxq , I'd really appreciate it! (Or please feel free to post your thoughts here). Thanks in advance!
[Edited: 2011 Oct 10 10:28 - Mell:49612 - Moved to Other Travel Sites forum. 😊]
Reply to this I have only used a travel agent once and that was to book a trip to Disneyland Paris from Dijon, France and that was the most economic option. I'm an advocate for individualism, therefore if you want to book through a travel agent than do it. However I find that booking independently is cheaper because of the chance to stay in hostels and not hotels, or sometimes I luck out and get to stay with a friend, yet I will acknowledge that this is my personal preference and I don't expect everyone to share this sentiment. I also feel that you can visit sites on your own time, and sometimes you can travel cheaper using bus and/or train once you decide to stay in a particular reason. However in my experience the quality of resources does matter, whether you use a travel agent or plan independently and I think that's why some prefer to book with agents while others on their own. Here's why: a bad guide book, map, or poorly managed, out of date website can ruin a trip. I know my vacation to Poland was almost ruined because I had a superficially detailed guide book, no decent map and relied on a poorly updated website to book my hostels, and also because I did not plan effectively travel times and my daily itineraries. Therefore, for anyone new to independent travel planning, be sure to chose a very detailed guide book that covers more than the basic tourist attractions, but lists all attractions, cultural background, safety and health concerns and an overview of basic neighborhoods and locations. Also be sure to have good maps with you make sure you use websites that have a solid, "honest," consistent reputation and are kept up to date. I know I book flights using either Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline or Hotline depending on the cheapest flight I find-I normally compare before I make a final purchase. I have also used STA Travel and for hostels I from now on use www.hostelworld.com
For country/city information I will contact local and national Tourist offices myself and I use a guidebook, my personal preference Lonely Planet and its website, to help. If there's a museum, I will go to its website and I do the same thing for restaurants, bars and other institutions. I hope this helps and happy travels!
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