Travel Agents Can Play A Crucial Role In Determining A Destination And Supplier

Part 2 of two.  In Part 1, MMGY says the $83 billion travel-agency channel is back in business, scoring a whopping 50% increase in interest from Millennial travelers. And there is an opportunity for a couple of bold agencies to step up and grab the market. For the full story, click here.

The profile of travelers who book through travel agents makes agents a prime potential source for destinations trying to market themselves to first-time visitors, a major travel industry marketing firm said yesterday.

In its recently released white paper based on the Portrait of American Traveler, travel research company MMGY Global cites the fact that 59% of consumers booking with travel agents are traveling to new destinations, versus 31% of those booking through other channels.

MMGY believes this openness to trying new things offers a real opportunity for destinations who can develop strong relationships with agents and provide them with the right sales support.

“If you’re responsible for marketing a destination and haven’t designated travel agent users as a target audience, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to connect with consumers who are traveling more, spending more, and are far more open to visiting a new destination,” said MMGY executive vice president Katie Briscoe.

Indeed, three-fourths of travel agent users went on at least one international trip last year, leading to higher spend per trip than on a domestic trip. Only a quarter of non-travel agent users took an international trip last year.

And travel agent users report a 48-point increase in intent to travel abroad during the next 12 months, while non-travel agent users have only a 5-point higher intent to do so.

MMGY and Briscoe believe that a “diverse and integrated marketing approach” to travel agency clients “is required” to take advantage of this greater propensity to travel internationally.

Suppliers could benefit as well
Not only are travel agent users more reachable for destinations, but an agent also could help a specific supplier create strong brand loyalty if it collaborated with travel agents more effectively.

More than three-fourths of travel agent clients report that travel agents influence their selection of lodging, vacation packages, travel insurance and attractions. But MMGY’s research shows that agents compete with the traveler’s own guided research. Travel agent users consider an average of 11.4 types of sources as they are researching a trip.

MMGY calls this the “top of the sales funnel,” when intent to travel begins to scoop a consumer into the decision-making process. If suppliers can work closely with agents, they could potentially win that booking before the traveler makes a final decision, the report said.