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‘Consumers know more about destinations than agents’
Almost a third of holidaymakers believe they know more about their chosen holiday destination than a travel agent.
This is according to recent research undertaken by Galileo International. Jason Clarke, country manager Galileo UK told TravelMole: “What our survey shows throughout is that travellers feel they know more about their trip than the travel agent does. The agents must change this perception.”
The Cendant Travel Distribution Services-owned GDS commissioned the research, which questioned 750 adults in Europe about their holiday buying habits.
The survey found that 35% of respondents thought agents were only able to book flights and accommodation while 29% said they normally know more about the destination than the agent.
Another grumble, according to Galileo, is that the holiday experience described by an agent does not match up to the holiday itself – an overwhelming 90% of respondents said they had experienced this.
“What the traveller is looking for is information and content,” said Clarke.
According to Clarke, agents signed up with Galileo can access information and content through its leisure portal, Galileo Leisure. This gives agents access to merchant hotel rates through Galileo Hotel Club, which numbers 11,000 properties, many of which have been rated by holidaymakers.
Galileo Leisure also offers access to 50,000 self-catering properties, provided through sister company, Vacation Rental Group. The system also offers destination and visa information and access to Custom Fares, Galileo’s fare comparison tool which accesses GDS content alongside low cost airline content and web fares.
But how can agents get customers through the door? According to Clarke it requires a three-pronged approach.
He told TravelMole: “Firstly there’s word-of-mouth, which continues to be the best system of referrals for an agents, secondly marketing, be it direct mail or dropping postcards to customers when they get back from holiday. Finally there’s the web. Many agents are now web enabled and they need to make sure this is compatible with the personal service they offer.”
Report by Ginny McGrath
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