Why reports of travel agents' demise may have been greatly exaggerated

The industry is expecting double-digit growth in trade this year.

By Conor McMahon Deputy editor, Fora

THE DEATH KNELL for travel agents has been ringing for many years now with the steady march of online bookings, yet the Irish trade is tipped to see double-digit growth in 2017.

That’s according to Pat Dawson, chief executive of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), who told Fora that overall sales in the sector were up 14% in 2016 and are expected to increase a similar amount this year.

Dawson said that travel agents are far from a dying breed and that technology – often considered a foe to the industry – has helped them “get slicker and be more professional”.

“I remember in the olden days to write out an airline ticket, my God almighty, it would take 15 to 20 bloody minutes,” he said. “Now it’s a piece of paper. If fact, you don’t even have a piece of paper – you have just a reference number.”

Nevertheless, the dawn of price-comparison sites has forced brick and mortar businesses to “up their skills and invest in training” so they can maintain loyalty with customers.

26237757571_fc01278ae8_o ITAA CEO Pat Dawson
Source: Travel Extra/Flickr

Expertise

The number of travel shops has more than halved over the last two decades, and the Irish trade was hammered in the years after the boom. In 2009 alone, 20 travel firms around the country went bust.

Many agents have moved off the high street because they can’t afford prime rents, opting to set up cheaper booths in shopping centres instead.

That said, the traditional trade in Ireland remains a multimillion-euro industry.

According to its most recent accounts, the country’s largest agent, Club Travel, topped €117 million in sales for the financial year ended 31 October 2015. The firm – which handles the lucrative travel management contract for the government, among others – reported a profit of nearly €4 million.

21892549231_68ffdae393_o Club Travel chief Liam Lonergan
Source: Travel Extra/Flickr

Dawson believes the expertise and first-hand knowledge that travel agents have of the destinations they sell gives them an edge over online competition.

“The major stuff that travel agents do is package holidays,” he said. “They would have the experience of dealing with the different airlines and dealing with the different tour operators. The travel agent is acting like a broker.”

The mysticism around varying room rates and air fares disappeared with the rise of price comparison sites. They killed off a lot of so-called ‘point-to-point’ business as consumers were able to monitor price changes and book flights and accommodation themselves.

Agents instead focus on long-haul trips and “complicated” holidays, Dawson said.

“The travel agent does all the work for you,” he said. “They will know where to go, they will know where to seek hotels, they will know what you want. They’ll know what’s in the marketplace, and they have the experience of being to most of these places.

“They’re experts on travel restrictions, they’re experts on flight delays and they do it every day. They have someone on the ground minding you. It’s a service.”

A major part of the agent’s job is to be there “when shit hits the fan”.

“If there was a big strike at an airport or bad weather, you’d see all these queues of people waiting to get up to the airline desk,” Dawson said.

“Anyone with a travel agent will just get a text or a phone call to say, ‘By the way, that flight is gone. We’ve booked you on a British Airways to wherever’.”

That’s why most of the 25,000 honeymoon trips out of Ireland every year are booked through agents, Dawson said.

“If you’re parting with €3,000 or €4,000, you’re not going to give it to a stranger. Security is a top priority.”

Holiday World

Dawson was speaking ahead of Holiday World Show, which takes place in the RDS Simmonscourt next weekend.

Holiday World 2012 Holiday World Show, RDS
Source: Travel Extra/Flickr

The expo will see 1,000 travel professionals from 50 countries flock to showcase their wares to across three days.

Now in its 28th year, 30,000 consumers are expected to come and plan their holidays the old-fashioned way. It is a highlight in the ITAA’s calendar.

Dawson couldn’t provide an accurate figure of how much revenue Holiday World generates for ITAA members, but he said “they wouldn’t go back there in their droves if they weren’t getting something out of it”.