Ted Teng says travel agent bookings are booming Ted Teng says travel agent bookings are booming

The Leading Hotels of the World President and CEO Theodore Teng said bookings made through travel agents were “thriving” this year, and had even overtaken online business.

“Travel agent business is growing this year faster than online business,” said Teng. He put this down to customers being put off by the overload of information available on the web.

“Some people will say travel agencies are dying - maybe they are for certain other segments, but for the luxury segment they are absolutely thriving because their clients are saying to them, ‘help me’. There is too much information on the internet.”

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Teng added that people booking holidays in the luxury segment were willing to pay more to book through an agent. “Saving a few dollars is nice but it is not the most important criteria – they are looking for service, they are looking for knowledge, they are looking for the confidence that somebody knows about this area, this region, this hotel and a travel agent can add the most value. People are going back to the real life travel agencies and saying ‘help me with this travel plan’.

Teng said that Leading Hotels worked closely with travel agents to educate them about their properties through roadshows and events with hoteliers.

He added: “I think sometimes too much is talked about in terms of a small part of the business that’s changing rapidly but we don’t talk about the core business anymore – and the perception is that who would go to a travel agent? But here most people go to a travel agent to manage their luxury travel.”