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Business Review 2006 from
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Specialist knowledge counts
Executive, Business and Leisure Travel
IN this world of non-stop technological advances, where you don't have a minute to spare, isn't it refreshing to realise that you can be offered one-to-one advice from a true professional for absolutely nothing?
Today's travel agent, whether a leisure consultant or business travel adviser, will have a wealth of knowledge and experience gained over many years that can called on to create unique itineraries or solve travel problems.
There is an increasing tendency for private and coprporate clients to make travel plans and bookings purely by accessing internet sites.
This may fit well with people's busy lifestyles, but it bypasses the expertise that is still such an important feature of the more conventional travel agency.
That said, agencies themselves are using online technology more intensively. They also use systems and sites with much greater knowledge of the travel market than non-specialists and will know their way around the most useful areas of the worldwide web.
While the package holiday is still alive and provides good value, the leisure traveller of today often demands a more sophisticated product than the off-the-shelf packages of old. People are now becoming more and more adventurous and seek complicated independent arrangements requiring a more personal touch and great knowledge.
Travel consultants today therefore need to be highly trained individuals, many of whom have extensive personal knowledge of varied destinations around the world.
Another feature of the modern agent is access to senior consultants available by appointment to visit you in your own home or office to discuss you requirements.
This sort of service is particularly popular with wedding and honeymoon arrangements to exotic locations.
When it comes to business travel, the corporate travel agent, now often known as a travel management company, can collate expert advice from a range of people with a wealth of industry knowledge, freeing the corporate traveller to focus on their core business.
Companies that use business travel management companies can expect access to many services including specially negotiated international airfares, corporate worldwide hotel rates, trip planning, budgetary compliance and comprehensive management information.
For companies that prefer to book online they can tap in to the business travel management companies' web-based booking tool and make their own bookings. This system, which is password protected, has all the security and back-up of the business travel team ensuring that any travel policy is adhered to.
Today's travel agent is a unique and highly skilled, highly professional individual - a message that needs to be put across time and time again.
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