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With the accessibility of the internet, the role of travel agents has changed over the years.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, cruises have become more popular and selling out faster while flights are becoming more difficult to navigate due to an increase in delays and cancellations. As more moving parts are added to vacations, the younger generation has turned to travel agents for help planning their time.
“Trips are getting more complicated,” Michelle Matthews, a vacation consultant with Expedia Cruises, said. “You have flights, you have hotels, you’re getting cruises and post-cruise tours. The role of the travel agent is to put all those components together so that it runs smoothly.”
The internet made booking hotels, cruises and flights far easier and older generations took advantage of the new options available, but younger people are finding a benefit in leaving the planning in the hands of professionals.
“Today, everybody can kind of do their own bookings,” Matthews said. “But because people are more busy and always on call with their phones, people in the younger generation are actually moving towards booking with travel agents so that somebody else can take care of it and get it off their plate. The last generation was happy with the internet and there was a sense of accomplishment doing it themselves, but the younger generation grew up with it. It’s not new and it’s not fun.”
The style of vacations that are being taken are different than they used to be, as well. Instead of beachside resorts, younger people are beginning to seek out unique experiences above regular downtime.
“The way people travel is changing,” she said. “People are doing a little bit more. They aren’t doing basic cruises to the Caribbean, they’re doing exploration trips into Antarctica or Cape Horn in Africa, or doing some kind of safari. The calibre of the trips is changing the industry.”
Matthews also said that many people don’t fully understand the benefit of working with travel agents, and that vacationers could miss out on deals and bonuses booking by themselves. It's also beneficial to ease of mind.
“I feel like the role of the travel agent is misunderstood,” Matthews said. “My service is built into the pricing, so they’re paying for it already and just not taking advantage of it. When you book directly with a cruise line, you aren’t going to get a rebate because you’re booking directly through them, and when you book with a travel agent there could be extra perks that aren’t given through the cruise line.”
