does the growth of online travel mean the Death of the traditional travel agent?

The internet might be booming, and it may be thanks to the web that people are travelling more — but travel experts agree that the “death of the traditional travel agent” has also been vastly overstated.

In fact, trips that involve complicated or special arrangements, or that are more expensive, are much more likely to involve a traditional travel agent.

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Despite a predicted growth in Kanoo’s online business to a double digit figure, Sunil D’Souza believes off-line will be the choice for many years to come.

“The Kanoo view is that the traditional role of the travel agent will remain for many years to come. Not everyone is internet savvy, not everyone trusts the internet and many customers prefer the assurance of face-to-face customer service. That is something we do very well.

Likewise many of our corporate clients will still need a Travel Management Company to procure their services.

They rely on the TMC to work on their behalf making bookings timely and efficiently, making optimum use of their travel spend and being dependable in their times of need.

We are selling a service which requires consultation, research of content and people do trust the experienced advisers. And most importantly our team of qualified and expert travel counsellors and travel specialists are readily available at all times of the day for attending to an emergency/change or cancellation etc.”

Asim Arshad, CEO, Orient Travel agrees: “Online booking will grow but I don’t think it will be a dominating force in this region. Travel distribution in the Middle East will continue the way it is, with the definite addition of online booking tools, developed locally by TMCs as well as other international players entering the Gulf market.”