Too much choice is driving travellers back to agents

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By Daisy Doctor


Ah, the internet.

The place where you can access almost anything, where all the information in the world is at your fingertips, where you can buy diamante studded jeans at three am after binge-watching season three of Sex and the City…

Or at least, that’s what we use it for.

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Anyway, apparently, many people are finding this abundance of choice and information quite overwhelming, particularly while trying to book their next holiday.

According to new research carried out by UK based travel company, Kuoni, the information overload is driving customers back to travel agents.

The research, based on Kuoni’s annual trends report, found 79 per cent of holidaymakers are overwhelmed by online searches, 52 per cent said they didn’t know which sites they could trust, and 59 per cent said they wanted experienced help while booking.

Many customers spend more than an hour researching online before seeking professional help and 79 per cent say they felt saturated by online forums and reviews, the research found.

“Increasingly people end up with so much conflicting information when they start searching that it ends up being more of a headache than a holiday,” said Derek Jones, managing director of Kuoni.

He added that there is also a “growing thirst for genuine expertise.”

“Conversations are still at the heart of holidays, from planning them to remembering them in the years that follow. Trust has never been more vital when it comes to travel,” Jones said.

Kuoni saw face-to-face appointments jump 38 per cent in 2017, with an average consultation reaching about two hours due to a surprising 59 per cent of clients with no destination in mind looking for guidance.

The report also noted around half of the company’s bookings are now for special occasion trips with honeymoons topping the list followed by birthdays, weddings and vow renewals, which is pretty cute if you ask us.

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