Travel agents should help clients “click around”: ASTA CEO

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By Hannah Edensor


Rather than fight to replace the ‘clicking around’ behaviours of travellers, travel agents should try and be a part of it.

At least that’s the sentiments of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) CEO Zane Kerby.

Per Travel Weekly US, Kerby was responding to a customer survey done by ASTA, which showed that consumers like to “click around”, but this doesn’t mean travel agents have to be excluded.

“We are not taking away the consumer’s ability to click around,” Kerby said.

“The travel agent’s message has to be, ‘Get out and see everything online, and then come talk to me, or while you’re doing it, let’s do it together.'”

The survey found that about 20 per cent of Americans use a travel agent, which has steadily risen over the years from 14 per cent in 2013.

But while last year ASTA was focused on how travel agents can save consumers both time and money, this year, per Travel Weekly US, Kerby insists its about finding ways agents can make their client’s trips easier and better, just by really knowing what they want.

“You’ve got to snuggle up to all of your customers,” he said. “Good [customer relationship management] is really important.”

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Per TW US, the survey also found that the younger Generations of X and Y actually spend more on accommodation and travel activities than baby boomers – in the US at least.

The millennials were also ranked as most likely to use a travel agent, which is a good sign no matter what country you’re in.

“They are buying packages from travel agents in greater numbers than other groups and looking at the whole travel experience,” Kerby said.

“They are not coming in and saying, ‘I want to book air or a hotel’; they are saying, ‘Help me find the right things to do in a particular destination.'”

And for anyone who thinks cruises are for the older set, Kerby said, “You’re wrong. Millennials are cruising in greater numbers, and they are loving it.”

The survey covered 1,522 Americans aged 25 to 70 between April 9 and 17.

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