Today’s travel agent lives in a hostile environment composed of other agents, wholesalers going direct to public and travel websites.  Relationships can be good protectors from competitors, especially when combined with customer service complemented by the construction of “highly personalized experience”. 

The pax journey begins with the travel agent, not when they leave the city . The key is ensuring that the end of the journey, at least in the mind of the pax,  is the travel agent (hopefully accompanied by strong written endorsement).

In the context of using their wisdom and experience to create the experience , the travel agent is also providing confidence.  Confidence in turn leads to customers taking “ bigger risks” and make further “investments” into bigger holiday experiences.

If the agent knows their stuff, this should create a memorable experience. “Being memorable” underpins lasting relationship and also provides content for the story where people recommend the travel agents to their friends.

Once that relationship is forged and the quality of the experience meets Pax expectations, the agent’s services are practically advertised for free via social media – see previous articles on “Pinterest”. This can promote the destination, but what is needed is for the agent to ensure they are indispensable when the holiday discussion takes place.

That only happens when the agent’s presence is felt throughout the trip and they become part of the experience. “Yes that’s Stonehenge; you really should see England some time. My agent hooked me up with the best tour company, you should call him…” ; this is the comment you MUST generate.

Keeping updated with the latest technological innovations made for travel agents also helps, like applications that send updated itineraries to travelers on the go, new social media avenues and trusted location online for important information, exploit every new convenience that is available.

The smartphone is probably the standout delivery tool for the future. Are you in that space?

“Fortune favours the brave” - be ready to change, flex and try new things in order to stay ahead of the market.