Is booking direct the new travel agent?

A handsome young man using his laptop in a coffee shop

Aussies love to travel, but just how much do we love our travel agents?

According to SureSave, who surveyed more than 1000 Australian-based travellers, reckon there’s a lot of love between us and our travel agents, with their advice more important than ever.

SureSave’s general manager Michael Callaghan said it’s clear that travellers are seeking guidance from the experts, and not the internet.

“We’re seeing a year on year increase in the perceived value of agents’ advice,” he said.

“In the last two years alone, the number of travellers who view agents as ‘a trusted source of safety and travel advice’ has jumped dramatically to 73%, which is a 16% increase.”

“Australians love to travel and statistics show that we’re continuing to take more overseas trips, but with an increasing number of security and safety threats internationally, a growing number of us are relying on the expertise of agents to provide assistance when planning our next holiday.”

But on the opposite end of the spectrum, travel insurance comparison site finder.com.au rustled up a few numbers of their own, and says travel agencies are forcing travellers to cough up top dollar.

According to The New Daily, the price comparison website researched how travel insurance prices vary between airlines, travel agencies and direct bookings, with the latter coming up trumps.

Source: Finder.com.au

The paper reports that Finder.com.au went through three groups: a single 21-year-old student; a 35-year-old couple with two children aged seven and five; and an older couple aged 55 and 60, across the three destinations of Europe, Thailand and the USA.

The average cost of travel insurance across all groups for a trip to the US, for example, was $193.25 when purchased direct, $275.12 with airlines, and $364.50 when booked through a travel agent.

And while Finder.com.au’s results may be skewed, as they benefit from the move away from financial services and insurance middlemen, it does make a valid case for encouraging more savvy and pro-active travellers.

The New Daily also did their own research, and found that overall, travel insurance purchased through airlines is often not the best deal, and a bit of searching and comparing can put a couple of hundred dollars back in your pocket.

So to win the war to find the cheapest and best travel insurance policies, being in the know is the missing piece to the puzzle, so that if travellers choose to book through an agent, they know what they want, and even where they want it from.

And there’s nothing wrong with knowing how to compete when you’re in an already competitive marketplace.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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