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By Sheri Leigh |
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simple round-trip ticket, in and out of the same city pair, appears
bookable by “point- and-click” technology. But just try to return
from a different city, or have a multi-part itinerary! Now,
to order that simple round-trip ticket could take as much as two
hours and up to five separate ticketing attempts to complete, thanks
to the inefficiency of the web site. It can get even worse: your
credit card may be charged two or three times if the site allows
you to keep thinking your submissions haven’t gone through. In the
end, you may well pay $100 or more per person for tickets that you
could have gotten in one five-minute call to a travel agent.. These
things happen routinely to even the most computer savvy people I
know. If they have such problems, what can the average Internet
user expect? Probably a nightmare. With the abundance of options
out there, the time and energy required to sort through them all
is overwhelming. Just because you can “do it yourself,” should you
really? Now
to be fair, I just spoke with a neighbor who was flexible enough
to use Priceline. He paid $380 in October to go round-trip from
San Francisco to London via USAir. I don’t know how much time it
took him to book, but as an ex-agent I could have done at least
as well, giving him a choice of airlines and times. He then flew
from London to Barcelona, paying more than $300 round-trip. I told
him he could have saved up to 70% on his intra--Europe flights by
flying from any of London’s three lesser-known airports.
While
you can research almost any possible travel plan online, from discount
air tickets and hotels to cars and special-interest tours, the fact
remains
that most Internet users still want the option to use the phone
for additional information and final bookings on complicated itineraries.
That fact has disproved the myth that the Internet would be the
death knell for traditional travel agents. In fact, a number of
agents I’ve spoken with have told me that their business has increased
because of the Internet. That’s
because rather than antiquating travel agents, the Internet has
had the positive effect of allowing them to focus on their special
interests. Many tourist boards now offer education and certification
to agents on their specific destinations. Industry organizations
also offer training. Whether an agent’s interest is in a specific
country or region, or subjects such as cooking, art or tropical
rain forest fauna, the best agents have hands-on, ‘been-there-done-that”
experience. That means you are dealing with highly knowledgeable
consultants, not just order takers. Working
with a travel agents gives you access not only to their hard-won
personal knowledge, but the combined experiences of all their associates,
clients and friends.
How
does Cultural Travels help you enjoy the services of this new breed
of travel agent? By helping you do your research. With our specialty-tour
database listing more than 1,000 travel companies offering tours
to more than 40 countries – the largest of its kind on the Internet
– it’s a snap to research the trip of your dreams. Then,
if you become overwhelmed with deciphering the differences among
safari companies, or Tuscan hill towns or South African national
parks, Cultural Travels can lead you to a professional travel agent.
We list them by their areas of specialization, just like tour companies,
right from within our Theme and Destination macro categories. What
could be easier? Instant research on our big database and assistance
from professionals you choose.
Welcome to the Cultural Travels difference! |
The result is that Internet-savvy clients
who research trip information and then contact an agent for booking
advice – usually at no additional charge – can expect a trip that
far surpasses in quality anything they could have discovered online
alone, 
