Luxury Travel Advisors Aim to Put the Person Back in Personalization

Travel advisors — formerly known as luxury travel agents — have a strong future ahead, despite the rise of artificial intelligence and other automation, according to the leaders of two leisure travel agencies that specialize in serving elite clients. 'The transactional elements are going to be phased out and done more efficiently by software," said Jack Ezon, founder and managing partner of Embark, speaking at Skift Global Forum on Thursday in New York City. "But travel advisors who can create value are thriving. Our mantra is to transcend the transaction." "[Agents] who were like human vending machines have gone away, and the ones that focused on providing value have thrived," said Matthew Upchurch, chairman and CEO of Virtuoso — and who has perhaps done more than anyone to popularize the adoption of the term "travel advisors." Upchurch bet long ago on the potential of the sector. "I never got the notion why the baby boomer generation that invented the personal chef,