Travel Agent vs Travel Advisor
What's the difference, why does it matter, does it really matter?
Travel agencies and the travel agent feel like something from a not so distant past. Long gone are the days of walking into your local travel agents office looking at brochures and flyers for far off places. In their place is Google searches, online booking sites and of course TikTok and Instagram travel influencers.
In today’s world why is it important for you to know the difference between a travel agent and a travel advisor when you want someone else to handle your trip planning for you?
Let’s talk about it.
The Classic Travel Agent
Traditionally classic travel agents handled all the booking arrangements for their clients. They worked in offices locally nearly their clients.
Their primary functions included booking flights, hotels, rental cars and tour packages.
They were paid on commissions from airlines and hotels.
You can work with a classic travel agent to do the following:
Book flights & hotels
Offer pre-packaged deals for things like guided tours, all inclusive and cruises.
Handled paperwork such as visas, travel insurance, and other details of your trips.
Could offer general travel advice on where you were going, what sights you could see and what to avoid.
The Modern Travel Advisor
With the changes in technology and shifting travel landscape the travel agent role was able to evolve. Travel agents can now choose to become travel advisors as well.
Travel agents are more like in the know friends who give you the inside scoop and all the deets about various travel locations. They curate itineraries based on your preferences and elevate your entire travel experience.
Travel advisors bring the following to your travel planning experience:
Tailored Travel Planning with your unique travel preferences taken into account.
Expert Knowledge gained through first hand experience, vendor education or other experience.
Exclusive Perks thanks to industry connections which can include special deals, upgrades and amenities they pass on to their clients.
Full Support from planning to returning home, they are there to help everything go smoothly.
So, why does this matter to you?
Depending on your travel planning style it’s important to know what to expect when working with a travel planning professional.
If you want someone else to be in charge of creating a personalized experience and to elevate your travel experience.
You need a travel advisor.
If you want to work within only prearranged itineraries with no personalization a travel agent will be a perfect fit.
If you want to level up your self planning days to stress free curated itineraries you’ll need a travel advisor.
It matters to know when you’re looking for help curating your perfect trip who to go too. Be it a travel agent or an advisor.
Travel Advisor or Travel Agent Per Travel Type
There are many different types of travelers but for this article we are going to address the three I usually work with the most. The budget traveler, the experience seeking traveler and the busy professional who travels for leisure. Each of these travelers needs something a bit different so knowing if they should seek a travel agent or an advisor from the start can help save them value time and inevitable frustration.
The Budget Traveler:
Budget travelers are often looking for the best deal in order to save money or maximize their travel investments. They want competitive rates but not necessarily frills. They’re usually alright with booking pre decided itineraries or packages.
Budget travelers can work successfully with either travel agents or travel advisors.
The Experience Seeker
The experience seeker is looking for something unique and usually immersive. They want action, adventure possibly even romance. These are travelers who want food tours or zip lines, cultural tours, haunted tours and more depending on their location of choice to visit. They’re usually looking for something a bit more than a prepackaged vacation. They want to make personalized edits and additions.
Experience seekers need a travel advisor. To get those customizations they’re looking for.
The Busy Bee Who Travels For Leisure
Regardless of if you’re a busy professional who has to remember to schedule in your lunch breaks or a busy parent trying to juggle band practice, karate and date night/self care hour, taking time to plan a trip just isn’t always in the cards. But when planning a trip you’d like it to be done for you to your preferences as if you’d taken the time to plan it yourself!
It’s best to work with a travel advisor.
But if you’re a busy bee who only cares about going somewhere and doesn’t want to make any additional adds or personalizations then a travel agent could work too.
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