Articles tagged “travel agents”

Australians have taken to cruising like ducks to water. With around 85 percent of bookings going through travel agents, this sector is providing a shot in the arm for travel retailers hit by falling margins in their bread-and-butter flights and hotels business.

Marriott will use its formidable presence in the North American hotel market to squeeze travel agents and meeting planners. The big question is whether competitors will follow suit. Could Marriott be setting the stage for a full-blown commission cut on all hotel bookings that would completely disrupt the travel sellers?

Despite the common misconceptions out there, travelers today—even millennial travelers—are open to using travel agents and consultants, as long as the price is right and trips can still be customizable and unique.

Millennials are often perceived as being totally closed off to the idea of travel agents. However, if the right message is put out there in the right way, these younger travelers are apt to sign on with a travel agent to help them plan the unique, memorable experiences they crave.

U.S. tour operators and travel agents are betting that it will be business as usual, or perhaps even better, as the new Cuba restrictions take effect and individual people-to-people visas get sidelined. But many also find it ironic that the White House announced these changes while Trump was courting leaders of Asian countries that have poor human rights records.

Sadly, whatever resolution was agreed upon will remain a secret between Ryanair, Google, and eDreams. We'll have to keep an eye on the Google search results to see if anything changes.

Who needs middlemen distributors? TripAdvisor-backed Viator is hoping that travel agencies come directly to its new platform to find tours and activities to sell to consumers.

Ctrip is betting on 6,000 franchise shops to take aim at cities where most travel shopping happens offline. At the same time, it hopes to increase its operating margins to Priceline-like levels. The two initiatives don't necessarily collide since Ctrip doesn't own the real estate or pay labor costs for the offline shops.

It's only a segment of the U.S. population that has a go-to travel agent for trip planning, although they are more popular in other parts of the world. Virtuoso is trying to equip its members with the smarts to adapt to the evolving traveler, and you have to give Virtuoso credit for that.

The global distribution systems aren't going anywhere. Innovation, however, is happening in the margins of the travel distribution marketplace, with airlines seeking to regain control of their destiny.