Canada’s Storefront Agencies Continue to Thrive

Although Canadians, like travelers just about everywhere, have embraced researching and booking travel on the Internet, many Canadians still prefer to deal with a brick and mortar agency.

As a result, for many Canadian storefront agencies, business is better than ever.

The most recent statistics available, published by PhoCusWright Inc. in its “Canadian Online Travel Overview, Second Edition 2007-2011,” found that 27% of Canadian travelers usually book their travel through a traditional travel agent at a brick and mortar agency.

By contrast, in the U.S., just 6% of consumers book exclusively offline (including supplier direct and with travel agencies), according to Douglas Quinby, senior director of research for PhoCusWright.

Stay relevant
The key for Canada’s brick and mortar agents is to stay relevant and have an outstanding staff, said to Michael van Straubenzee, director of cruises and vacations for Vision 2000 Travel, a Virtuoso agency in Victoria, British Columbia.

“We have the clients we want now. They deal with us because they want to, not because they have to.”

The fact that many consumers book travel online actually opened a door for travel agents, he said. “It’s offered many agencies like ours the opportunity to move upmarket and add value to the transactions. Our business has expanded exponentially,” he said.

“When people have problems with online agencies, they get burned and want to deal with us. We have a 24-hour helpline that’s always available, and we have advisors who have traveled all over the world. We don’t have any staff in our Victoria location who have less than 10 years of experience.”

Part of his agency’s success is a result of the specialized groups it puts together. For instance, Vision 2000 organizes singing tours for a choirmaster who trains participants to sing as they travel, with a performance at the end of the tour.

Renewed his lease
Markham Cruise and Travel Center, a TRAVELSAVERS agency in Markham, Ontario, is enjoying similar success. Most of the agency’s clients are age 50 and up, and they prefer to book travel face-to-face, said owner David Jacob.

The agency has been on the historic main street of Markham, a city of about 300,000 located 45 minutes northeast of Toronto, for 32 years. “We have long-term clientele, and most of our business comes through referrals, with some walk-is,” Jacob said.

Although Jacob predicts further decline in brick and mortar agencies, especially the mom and pop variety, his agency, which has six in-house and two outside agents, is thriving.

“Our sales are up 25% year over year, and I just renewed a lease for five years,” he said. “People who have a business plan and know what they’re doing are going to flourish.”

85% face-to-face
Another Canadian agency, Fraser & Hoyt Travel in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, is quite an anomaly in the Internet age – it conducts 85% of its business in person.

“Our clients enjoy coming into our office to receive the one-on-one undivided attention we provide, with a level of service that separates us from online agencies,” said Vanessa Taylor, manager of leisure travel for this Virtuoso agency.

What also separates the agency – located in a downtown strip mall in a university town of 4,500 – is the fact that it has been in business in the area for 50 years.

The agency sells mainly off-the-shelf all-inclusive packages. But Fraser & Hoyt also is seeing increased demand for custom packages. It also handles a small number of corporate bookings and growing destination wedding and student group travel business.

“We do not compete with online agents,” added Taylor. “Our future is bright. Our clientele will continue to support us due to the nature of our service and the quality products we provide.”

Tough environment
Even successful Canadian agencies continue to face challenges, however.  

“The average agency size in Canada is still two to three people across some 5,000 agencies in Canada,” said David Harris, owner of Orion Travelinx, an Ensemble agency with 10 consultants in Burlington, Ontario.

“I don’t know how so many continue to exist. Business is competitive. The environment is different for everyone.”

Home-based pretenders?
“Brick and mortar (agencies) seem to be getting pressure from an increase in home-based and hosted models,” Harris said.

Yet many of those home-based agents are not the real thing, and that’s a problem, Harris said. “There are too many alleged agents who are nothing more than glorified sales reps. A true professional should be producing at least $1 million (in sales) annually.

“Those models are diminishing the reputation of stronger agencies. It’s eroding consumer confidence.”

Consumers need agents’ advice
Dealing with a travel agent, in person, is still the best way for consumers to cut through information overload, according to David Coffey, director of sales and business development for Merit Travel Group, a Signature agency in Ottawa.

“A travel agent sits in between the supplier and the consumer. It’s only in that position that consumers can get feedback on what kind of experience they think they want and what kind of experience they should want,” he said.

“What our customers ask us for and what they really want are often two vastly different experiences. It’s very difficult to sift through the options to find which experiences will give them the most satisfaction.”

That makes the services of an agency like his invaluable. “Travel agents help translate people’s dreams and wishes into a real travel goal. They take a concept and turn it into reality and that reality might be much different than the client’s original concept.”

For that reason, Coffey doesn’t see Canada’s brick and mortar agencies disappearing anytime soon.