Do you ever feel like you know just enough about cruise travel agents to be dangerous? Let’s see if we can fill in some of the gaps with the latest info from expert travel agents in Philadelphia.
Travel agents usually don’t cost you anything directly, but of course most work on a commission basis for airlines, etc., so you might as well use the best. Most travellers are unaware that anyone, particularly in the USA, without a scintilla of training, can pay a modest fee and become a ‘travel agent.’ So, to be safe, check to see, for example in the USA, if the agent is certified by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) or ARTA (Association of Retail Travel Agents). Airlines have caused an uproar among travel agents with plans to force them to the pay credit-card fees when their customers buy tickets with plastic. The agents say it’s an unfair move by United to shift a cost of its business on to their backs. Travel agents are paid by commission on trips they book. If you ask three travel agents to quote packages to Bora Bora and Moorea, complete with sightseeing tours and maybe a layover in Honolulu, you will receive three different package quotes.
ATTA members include tour operators, destination marketing organizations, tourism boards, specialty travel agents, guides, accommodations, media and service providers. Host of the annual Adventure Travel World Summit executive conferences (www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com), the ATTA provides professional support, development, education, research, marketing, career building, networking and cost-saving resources to its members. Asking travel agents about their favourites is a delicate question, a bit like asking restaurant chefs where they like to eat out. However, the results for 2009’s agents’ awards are in, and Canada is the cream of the crop again in the “Summer Destinations” category.
See how much you can learn about cruise travel agents when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don’t miss out on the rest of this great information from travel agents in Philadelphia.
Booking travel online is becoming more complex all the time. I love what TravelAgents2U did in showing the total price of a hotel booking, including taxes and fees, in initial display results. Booking through a travel agent is similar to having travel insurance to help make sure that everything on your vacation goes smoothly.
As a consequence, airlines no longer needed to pay the commissions to travel agents on each ticket sold. Since 1997, travel agencies have gradually been disintermediated, by the reduction in costs caused by removing layers from the package holiday distribution network. Good travel agents focus on finding deals during non-peak times, which is when you can score the cheapest rates and greatest selection.
Cruises used to be booked by only the rich and now people in every income book cruises. Each year more and more people go on cruises. Cruise and tour operators use search engine optimization (SEO) to get found for packages related to specific cruise ships, personalized tours, and specialty adventure trips which can’t be created online.
Is there really any information about cruise travel agents that is non-essential? We all see things from different angles, so something relatively insignificant to one travel agent in Philadelphia may be crucial to another.