What awaits Agency tours in 2018: the final fiasco or an unexpected revival?
There is a myth that the number of people who prefer the travel agencies services rather than independent traveling, is rapidly falling from year to year.
But is that really so? Or maybe the revival of this very underrated type of travel awaits us?
Why did the tours lose their attractiveness for travelers? Experts of the tourism market answer: “Travelers become more independent!”.
But what does that really mean?
The choice of travelers, formed only by personal desires, their wish to make the journey independant and individual — these are the new preferences of modern travelers.
Now information about tickets and hotels became available to anyone because of the well-established relations between men and the Internet. And “all-inclusive” offers began to be associated only with a template, lazy vacation in Turkey or Egypt. At the same time, the demand for them and the need for travel agencies is obviously disappearing. Or not?
Let’s look at the statistics of the 2017. According to a survey by Google and Tiburon conducted among the Russian Internet users this year was marked by the return of interest to the tours. Requests for this type of travels increased by 55% compared to 2016, which in turn was marked by a large demand drop.
It was (and still remains) a turning point for “package” proposals.
But how did it affect its future?
Booking based on the analysis of more than 128 million reviews of the real users of the service, conducted a study to predict the main trends of the next year: “Tourists are increasingly guided by their own intuition: more than a half of the respondents (57%) want to be more independent in terms of travel.”
The result of the study shows that a clear preference will still be given to independent search for the best deals and drawing up their own travel plans.
But this is not the only expert opinion in this regard.
“Recognising the value and peace of mind that booking with a tour operator offers in uncertain times, holidaymakers who wouldn’t have previously considered booking a package holiday are now taking a second look.
The boutique and design hotels on offer that perhaps wouldn’t have traditionally been associated with package holidays are attracting a new holidaymaker, one that places an emphasis on interior design and food, and I expect this to continue with more millennials joining the more traditional package holidaymakers.
Going hand in hand with this trend, holidaymakers are also looking for a more personalised experience than ever before. They want the ability to unpack and personalise their package holiday through new and innovative services that can be added on to fit their holiday wishes. I expect the desire for greater personalisation to continue and grow throughout 2018”.
These words belong to the Executive Director of one of the largest travel companies in the world Thomas Cook in the UK-Chris Mottershead.
We tend to believe his words and the trend of the “second life” for tours, the possibility of which in 2018 is predicted by many experts.
Our advice to travel agents is not to rely on such an unstable concept as a trend, but to take the situation into their own hands: to change the approach to “package” tours and try to personalize them.
Do not forget about the main trend of 2018 — attracting technology.
This means that the mobile apps and constant cooperation with the new platforms and technologies will bring travel agencies to the new level, as well as the quality of their tours.
After all, as noted by Pepayn Rivers (Marketing Director of Booking.com) in the study mentioned above: “With the development of technology, the travel industry is also developing”.
And it really needs these changes.
And you can become those who will change the future not only of your business, but also the entire travel market. It remains only to move on to the real action.
