Online vs Offline Bookings free essay sample

Online versus offline bookings The upcoming decade for travel agencies The number of travel agents has declined sharply during the last decade. According to an article of RockCheetah (www. rockcheetah. com, viewed on 12 May 2013) 30 per cent of all travel agents have had to close down since 2000. The reason of the major decline seem clear. The internet is infinitely popular and beholds many advantages over the rather old fashioned travel agents. The online booking of holidays is preferred by many people because of several reasons. The best rates are just few clicks away while various organisations and tour operators are compared simultaneously. Moreover, no additional charges have to be paid to a travel agent. Complementary, cars and traffic jams are avoided because it is no longer necessary to get in the car. All can be arranged from the comfort of a own home. Questioned is whether travel agencies still have any purpose in todays society and if they will last for another decade. Booking a trip online has considerable disadvantages. The internet is open for all to post anything on it. Companies often claim the best rates, accommodations, photos and reviews. There is a great possibility that this not reflects the truth and therefore comes across as deceiving. An overload of unreliable information is the result, which makes the search of a holiday much longer than intended. Kate Springer of TIME news feeds states that the average person spends more than two hours to search and book a trip online (www. time . com, viewed on 12 May 2013) The same article of TIME claims that the IBM Institute for Business Value 20 per cent of them took more than five hours to find the proper holiday. Besides, the freedom to post anything causes the internet to be a less safe place. Cybercriminals have many opportunities to create websites offering false products, to steal real money. After listing all apparent advantages booking online trips, it might be slightly difficult to opt for a travel agents. However, against expectations, travel agents have many advantages. Travel agents filter out the overload of information and provide the customer with detailed information about destinations and accommodations which is not available for the big public. This information also includes advice regarding to visa. Many agents have much travelling experience themselves, which exclusive information to the customer. Furthermore, a travel agent often saves much money. This is due to large quantity in purchases made of accommodation, tickets and excursions. When these are bought in larger quantities, travel agents often arrange attractive discounts, doing their best to get the best deal for the customer. Furthermore, many customers have additional requests regarding their trip. The overload of possibly false information causes difficulties to find the proper product for the customer. Much stress is saved when assembling a tailor made product is done by a travel agent. A travel agent has the knowledge and the resources to do so. It can be stated that the demand for travel agents along with the overflow of information on the internet is rising. No guarantees are given on the existence of travel agents for the upcoming decade. However, the prospects are optimistic.