How the industry is creating better travel experiences for the modern travelerThe Internet has brought accessibility to the regular customer, but also to the travel industry itself. So easy, in fact, that the perception is that traditional travel agents have almost been rendered unnecessary. With just a few clicks, you can find hundreds of deals for your chosen destination, hotels, flight connections and price quotes, activities, vacation packages, you name it. The travel industry became a big shopping market for everyone and travel agents quickly became a rare species, as they don’t add too much value anymore to the regular traveler. If you have a computer and internet connection, you can find better deals that the ones offered by a brick-and-mortar travel agency within minutes at the comfort of your home, it’s a fact. However, a new trend is taking shape in the industry. At Travel Consulting Hub, we have already talked about the value and importance of a travel consultant before. Rather than just trying to sell you a travel package from a standard brochure, travel consultants started to emerge as the 21st century service providers, as we can customize your trip to meet your own needs and wishes. Travel consultants are a valuable resource in the travel industry as we can offer the best trade-off between price, experience and convenience. Demand for made-to-measure trips is rising every single year According to a recent article by Travel+Leisure, requests for customized and personalized vacations are rising sharply. In today’s world travel industry, one size no longer fits all. Personalization and trip customization IS the new trend! If you buy a tilored suit/dress, why not apply that same concept to your travel needs?! Take the flight booking experience, for exemple. Choosing a flight is no longer just a matter of price, or going from point “A” to “B”. It's much more than that, in fact. Traveles are starting to better perceive the value of flight recommendations based on their shopping purpose - leisure or business trip, family vacation or group travel and even which city they come from. You’re not looking just for the cheapest price anymore, but also for (smooth) connections, airline aliances, air miles, inflight entertainment and even the seat features itself! Moreover, according to Amadeus – a leading travel services provider and one of the biggest global distribution systems for the airline aindustry - 40% of European travelers do not have a destination in mind when they start planning their trip. This means that people still need – and are actively looking for – help to plan their journeys. The only difference is that you no longer want a “standard travel package”. In today’s world, travelers want to travel the world in just one way – their own way. “The global travel industry, and the way in which consumers experience it, is changing so dramatically that it requires a fundamental change to the way in which travel is sold and how the traveller is served”, says Luis Maroto, Chief Executive Officer and President of Amadeus. Bottom line, people need help when choosing and booking travel. However, they are looking for solutions that better fits their needs, rather than the simple results from web pages and online travel agencies (OTA’s). The advent of mobile travel services (optimized web pages, travel apps and available services) is no longer a trend in the travel industry, it’s now an industry-feature. The key to success from now on is how to combine innovative solutions and technology with customized services and personalization. In fact, the requests for customized vacations packages are rising sharply and will continue to grow. That’s another reason why travel consultants are now on high demand. "Because there are so many people who have money, the new currency is how unusual and rare the experience is" says Keith Waldon, a spokesman for Virtuoso. The relevance of recommendations and the way that consultants connect with their clients makes all difference today! By shaping the offers to match client’s needs, travel consultants are differentiating from all the competition. That’s what we do at Travel Consulting Hub. We combine our personal travel knowledge and expertise with customizable itineraries and services for the modern traveler in order to provide better and unique travel experiences. The whole journey - and the lifetime memories you get – is the destination! Do you also think customization is the new trend in travel?! Are you planning to use custom-made travel services in 2018?! Share your thoughts and ideas with us. We’d love to hear them!
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