Travel Agents

Singapore’s Old-School Travel Agencies Struggle While Innovators Thrive

Raini Hamdi, Skift

Over 100 travel agencies have ceased operations in Singapore in the first six months of the year. But a closer look shows the trade is not dying; it is renewing.

3 days ago

Travel Journalists Pivot to Custom Luxury Travel Planning

Laura Powell, Skift

Another high-end, membership-based travel consultancy opens up shop. We wonder how these businesses will distinguish themselves as competition grows in the realm of "curating bespoke experiential localized" travel.

2 weeks ago

Flight Centre Defies Critics as Its Earnings Outlook Improves

Vivek Shankar, Bloomberg

Flight Centre is winning over some of the doubters of its travel agency model. Although it is a global business, the bulk of its revenue is from Australian travelers, who need to travel long distances to get anywhere and generally spend a lot of time at destinations once they arrive. Perhaps Flight Centre is a special case.

3 weeks ago

Travel to Russia Surges Despite Geopolitical Tension

Nikki Ekstein, Bloomberg

Russia is experiencing a huge tourism Trump bump, and tour operators are slammed with demand from U.S. travelers.

4 weeks ago

Millennials Now Enjoy Cruising More Than Boomers

Andrew Sheivachman, Skift

After years of talking up the importance of attracting millennials and families to cruising, it appears cruise lines are leaving them with a positive impression of their time onboard when they do choose a cruise vacation.

3 months ago

The Travel Agents Rethinking the Brick and Mortar Retail Experience

Laura Powell, Skift

There are vastly fewer retail travel outlets now than two decades ago, but a few creative agents are rethinking how to buy and sell travel in the real world.

3 months ago

Isolation Is the Next Big Thing in Luxury Travel

Laura Powell, Skift

Silence is indeed golden and isolation comes at a premium as well for luxury travelers who really, really want to get away.

3 months ago

Flight Centre Invests $7 Million for Stake in Leading Argentinian Booking Site

Dennis Schaal, Skift

Can a legacy brand like Flight Centre really transform itself and get more digital and global? The company is making the investments and acquisitions in people and technology to do so. Will the strategy be successful? It will take a few years to find out.

4 months ago

Travel Agents and the Power of Word-of-Mouth Recommendations

Colin Nagy, Skift

Break through the travel recommendation bubble with a good old-fashioned human expert.

4 months ago

The Travel Agent of the Future May Be the Travel Agent of the Past

Andrew Sheivachman, Skift

Travel agencies are using digital education tools to reach the new generation of agents. More valuable could be back-end innovations that make life for agents more fun than figuring out dated computer systems.

5 months ago

Travel Agents Say Visa Controversy is Dampening Demand From Abroad

Austin Weinstein and Randy Woods, Bloomberg

The problem with the U.S. travel ban isn't just about the seven Muslim-majority countries. Travel agents and business travel entities fear it is having a broader impact with clients from abroad reluctant to visit the United States given all the uncertainty and unrest.

6 months ago

Venezuelan Travel Agencies Get Creative in Reinventing Themselves After Very Tough Year

Zayira Arenas, Skift

Venezuelan travel agencies have refocused their strategies to face the economic crisis. The shift has not been enough to boost the business, which shows no signs of recovery.

6 months ago