11/02/12, 23:43:37 EST

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Travel Agents Down, But Not Out

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Although more than two-thirds of leisure travelers use the Internet these days to book the flights, hotels and cars they need on their vacations, traditional travel agents are fighting back by emphasizing their personal touch and hands-on expertise that no computer can match.

Jenny Nord and Tom Steinberg took different avenues in planning their perfect vacations. She consulted a travel agent. He did it himself online.

Nord, a social worker from Florissant, Mo., was headed to Disney World in Orlando with her 4-year-old son, Davin, and initially went online to look at packages and prices.

"I'm not a big Internet person, and I found it pretty confusing," she said. "There were too many choices."

Nord, 29, sought advice from Jan Stanczak, a travel agent at Carlson Wagonlit Travel in O'Fallon, Mo., who arranged her trip.

"Jan was very familiar with all the Disney packages," Nord said. "She said September was the best time. Prices were a little bit better, there were less crowds and the weather was beautiful. We're staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort on site. Jan said shuttles take us where we need to go on the property. It was just so simple."

Steinberg, 55, a physician in St. Louis, was going to Europe with a friend for a nine-night trip that started in Amsterdam and ended in Paris. He used Travelocity.com to book the flights, Booking.com to find hotels and Michelin.com to get maps.

Steinberg, who described himself as "moderately computer savvy," praised the hotel reviews he found on Booking.com.

"The reviews were precisely what I found when I got there," he said. "I could communicate with the hotels online, I made the reservations and asked the one in Paris a question. I could get all the information I wanted over the Internet."

The travel agent industry has survived a triple whammy of events in the last decade or so. First was the boom in online booking sites.

Second was the elimination of airline commissions to travel agents. Third was 9/11, when travel slowed and many agencies shut their doors. The industry reported 32,238 agencies in 1999, and 20,492 this year.

 Printable Version  | published Oct 31, 2007