Articles tagged “travel agents”

A united front came together for a “Travel Day of Action” — but it'll take an extremely loud voice to convince policy makers to fast forward the proposed July 19 reopening date and pry open wallets for more cash handouts.

There’s cause for optimism for this at-risk segment of the industry, just as National Travel Advisor Day hits. Travel agencies that are quick to adapt have the potential to capture a new customer base that outlasts the travel recovery years.

Like Traveloka in Indonesia, Argentina's Despegar is making strides in financial services. Amsterdam-based Booking.com is busy building a payments platform, and Grab Taxi in Southeast Asia has a lending and insurance arm. Megatrend, yes.

Travel advisors play a critical role in the recovery of the leisure tourism sector. But these majority women-owned, small businesses will need relief to stay afloat if the U.S. travel industry is to benefit.

Airlines are increasingly using application programming interfaces, or APIs, to distribute their fares. That could let Amazon and other companies more easily sell tickets. That opens up an opportunity for tech players.

The debate about how video conferencing will replace business meetings is too obvious. Next year we should be talking about money.

Anyone who says Covid-19 will finally do what the internet hasn't quite done — that is, sunset the travel agency — is speaking too soon. Singapore, where logically agents are least needed, isn't seeing massive closures so far, thanks to a government that recognizes their expertise, rather than a bot's.

If you think all airlines will lower their fees to encourage more bookings during the pandemic, think again.

If the Expedia-Marriott partnership works out as promised, then there will be fewer Marriott rates on metasearch sites that are deeply discounted compared to Marriott's own websites. And bedbanks and tour operators will have to sign up with Expedia — not Marriott — to get their hands on Marriott's wholesale rates.

For years, airlines, travel agencies, and their technology partners acknowledged they could adopt more modern ways of selling plane tickets. The sticking point lately has been less technological than commercial. Thursday's deal is a seismic moment serving as a model for how the sector might afford to transition to the future.