A travel agent may still be useful although people are doing a lot of their travel on line. But if they want to combine a hotel stay with the flight, they are going to have difficulty unless of course the site gives alternative solutions regarding where to stay. Since shopping is personal for many, a lot of people like the feel of making their own choices that are not found within the cover of a travel brochure.
If they are not savvy about how to combine travel tips, speaking to the agent may be useful. One example maybe taking a trip to South America but by combining different means of transport, something that would not be apparent on an on-line system. An air-trip to Brazil can be combined with a rail trip to Mexico and the stops on the way might be worked out with a travel agent who is familiar with what kinds of rail travel there is.
If you wanted to change your mind from rail to bus she could advise you about where to go to get a ticket or book a ticket for you in advance. In short, having an agent will be a great convenience compared to hunting websites looking for travel deals that aren't there.
Travel agents are competing with on-line travel services and it is likely that people will be making more travel plans through the internet. In Quebec, internet shopping is predicted to go up to nine from six percent and is predicted to go up even further.
This may affect how many people actually visit a travel agent but as I have said, going to one allows you to get your tickets in advance and make sure that any questions about travel places are answered, something that is not guaranteed by on-line travel sites. One gets a sense of a company's reputability when you visit a physical establishment where you can see how an agent works out a travel plan. So the travel agent will still be around in years to come.
