Written By Brett Tollman on July 28, 2016

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSULTING A TRUSTED TRAVEL AGENT – NOW MORE THAN EVER!

I have recently done several industry presentations which included a summary (also a reminder) of why a good travel agent is as relevant today as ever, and who is a very important resource when planning a vacation/holiday.

I always use a “trusted advisor” (what I call a good or great travel agent), when booking my family’s holidays. I trust this person, as they know me, know what I am looking for and will spend the time and effort to find suitable options and enhanced deals for me. These sometimes include great air offers, as well as improved hotel packages and upgrades. (Obviously, when I travel with one of our brands, as I did recently with Trafalgar (see below) on one of their amazing trips through some of the USA’s spectacular national parks last May, or when traveling with Uniworld or Insight Vacations, or when staying at one of Red Carnation Hotels’ jewels, I will always book these directly).

As part of Trafalgar’s ‘Scenic Parks Explorer’ head east to the town of Cody, named for its most famous native son, Buffalo Bill, and get a glimpse into its lively history at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

In addition to my personal leisure travel needs being provided by a great travel agent, our company and its numerous brands depend on our trusted and valued travel agent partners to generate the majority of our business for us. Many of our itineraries and experiences have a significant price point, and have various “moving parts,” which cause many of our customers to want to book through a travel agent or directly with our call centers, rather than through an online booking engine (which we offer too.) We work constantly with them, through our great sales and marketing teams, to provide them with constant training, support and information to help ensure they have all the information and tools they need to answer fulfill their customers’ questions and needs when making a booking through them.

To reinforce both this professional and personal view, here are various links to articles highlighting the benefits and value of finding a good travel agent and why a travel agent adds value to your vacation purchase.

How to Find and What to Look for in Choosing a Good Travel Agent:

Independent Traveler – How to Find the Right Travel Agent

Wikihow.com – Choose a Travel Agent

Forbes – Why You Need a Travel Agent – Part 1

USA Today – How Do I Choose the Best Travel Agent? (Video)

About Travel – Travel Agents: What You Need to Know

Why Travel Agents are Important and Beneficial:

Travelmarketreport.com – 10 Reasons Travelers Still Need a Travel Agent

Travelmarketreport.com – Six Reasons Travel Agents Are Back

Travelmarketreport.com – Ten Reasons to Book a Cruise Through a Travel Agent

Also, in case you are interested in reading about some of the mega trends driving and affecting travel this year, I highly recommend the online industry source; Skift, which I read all the time:

Skift – Annual Forecast Megatrends Defining Travel in 2016

Lastly, I would like to recommend you read my cousin Gavin’s most recent blog which you can read here.

He writes about our recent trip together on a Trafalgar USA experience ‘Scenic Parks Explorer’, through some of the great US national parks – an apt time to visit them, being we celebrate 100 years of the National Park Service this year. I thoroughly enjoyed our several days on the road together last May, getting to meet some wonderful fellow travelers (Trafalgar’s guests on the Scenic Parks Explorer itinerary) and experience first-hand the superb quality of our Travel Directors (Tyson, you rule) and the outstanding, very memorable experiences we had each day.

Here are a few additional photos from that outstanding trip. The first two are of Gavin and I in front of our Trafalgar “limo” and a photo of happy Marty – on his first vacation with wife Judy. They hail from Lancaster, PA and it was a true delight to get to know them. We are now working on planning their first international holiday to either Ireland or Switzerland.