Volcanic Chaos Proves Value of Agents and Wholesalers
This article below by Peter Needham drives home the point ‘Without a Travel Agent you are alone’.
April 20, 2010
It has taken the sudden eruption of an Icelandic volcano to demonstrate graphically the value of booking travel through agents and with reputable wholesalers.The Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption has paralysed air traffic throughout Europe for what looks like being well over a week, stranding thousands of passengers and disrupting the flight plans of millions waiting to fly into, out of or between European destinations.
Travellers who booked through agents and wholesalers are being accommodated with changed itineraries and being kept up to date with complete itinerary alternate options. That’s because agents and wholesalers in Australia can hook up with affiliated suppliers in the destinations, who are able to make alternative arrangements. Travellers who booked on the internet face a bleaker outlook. Most have no idea where to turn for help locally. Some are heading for airports to wait in long queues and get turned away; others are trying to book into hotels that are already full of stranded passengers.
Managing director of Icon Holidays, Simon Hills, said the eruption demonstrated the value of booking through agents and buying packages put together by wholesalers.
“Speaking for my own business, for the past three days we’ve had staff in the office doing nothing but arrange travel for people who had already travelled and are now in Paris, Rome, Istanbul, Cairo and elsewhere. We had suppliers on the ground in those places arranging alternative accommodation for travellers who booked with us.”
Hills, who is also chairman of the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) said he assumed the situation over the weekend was the same for other CATO members, as they looked after their customers.
CATO has often sought to highlight the value of booking through agents and buying packages put together by wholesalers. Now Eyjafjallajokull has proved CATO’s point.
“Those who booked directly or through the internet are very much out on their own,” Hills pointed out. “It certainly brings out the value of booking through agents and wholesalers. It usually costs no more and there are a lot of advantages.”
Written by: Peter Needham
Currently there are “4 comments” on this Article:
- mary debrincat says:
Hi is oh so true. Many passengers think they can do the agents job and save money but when something like this comes up we are the first people they turn to for help. This should be a good thing for people to think about for their next time!!
- Gudrun Tamandl says:
We in the industry are already aware of this. This is a very good article – but shouldn’t it be going out into the general public media.
- Jill Quigley says:
As a trainer of future travel industry employees, in particular those who will become retail and wholesale consultants, I thoroughly agree this should be made more widely available. There’s so much rumour around that travel agents will soon be a thing of the past!
We can hope that travel consultants have seen this article and can use it to their advantage when next asked “why should I bother booking with you when I can do it all on the internet?”
- Peter Crymble says:
I agree, I use a terrific agent in Brisbane. He’s more than worth his money when the s..t hits the fan. He saved us last year in Vietnam when we couldn’t board due to a cyclone and he’s doing a terrific job for my upcoming trip next Tuesday to the UK????
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Tagged as: agents in Australia · booking travel agents · European destinations · internet booking · reputable agents · Travel Agent · value of booking travel
