Worst part of a trip may be booking it on the web?
In August 2009, the New York Times published an article titled, “Worst Part of a Trip May Be Booking It on the Web.”
With research data from Forrester Research, it seems that consumers are increasingly frustrated with planning and booking travel on the web or online.
Fed-up travellers looking to travel agents
Even in a do-it-yourself era, travellers are fed up with the online booking process: the extra fees, fine print, service charges, destination research and the nitty gritty items that travel agents have traditionally taken care of.
In fact, Mark Murphy, President of TravelPulse.com recently noted that more than 70% of all cruise, tour and resort bookings are produced by travel agents. When it comes to the so-called “impending demise of travel agents,” Murphy comments, “the word delusional comes to mind.”
Getting the best of both worlds: How to use travel agents online
It’s clear that consumers and travellers are continuing to use travel agents to book their holidays and vacations. Now – what if you could book travel through a travel agent online?
tripatlas.com/new, the World’s Largest Travel Resource, brings consumers and travel agents together to book holidays online in a easy, simple, and efficient way.
Here’s how it works. Interested travellers visit tripatlas.com/new to use the Trip Builder (tripatlas.com/new/tripbuilder.html). The Trip Builder asks for your name, contact information, destination, number of days, and budget. Your trip request is sent to over 104,000 professional travel agents (TripAtlas PROs) worldwide who will contact you with a price quote on your trip. With a handful of competitive prices in hand, you choose the best deal – and you’re set.
Not sure where you want to go? tripatlas.com/new’s Trip Deals (tripatlas.com/new/trips.html) bring you the best custom trips, deals, and packages from TripAtlas PROs.
tripatlas.com/new works as a tool to connect interested travellers with travel agents, not a booking engine like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, or Priceline. No fine print, no hidden fees, and if you have any questions about your trip, you can contact your travel agent. Find out more at www.tripatlas.com/new or Build a Trip today.
* * *
Sources
New York Times, “Worst Part of a Trip May Be Booking It on the Web” by Susan Stellin
TravelPulse.com, “Looking for Answers?” by Mark Murphy