What Is A Travel Agent?

As the number of home-based and part-time travel sellers grows, the industry has been forced to answer that question. Most full-time agents say those companies that offer consumers training and travel agent identification for a fee, usually under $500, are a threat to the profession. Nevertheless, several companies believe the future of travel retailing lies in tapping more consumers, both corporate and leisure, to act as outside sales representatives. Indeed, the founders of Global Travel International (GTI) are aggressively aiming to build a $500 million enterprise using a network of outside sales reps. Known for its controversial ads in The Wall Street Journal, which read "Slash Your Travel Costs-Become a Travel Agent Today," GTI claims its approach to travel retailing is unique. "We don't see ourselves as a travel agency," says Michael Gross, president of the Maitland, Fla.-based company. "Rather, we see ourselves as a marketing company wrapped around a travel agency." GTI is ...  more

Every industry has its jargon, and if you've been around travel for any length of time, you know how much we relish our lingo. Industry-specific terminology can be an essential tool to facilitate shared understanding. RevPAR, ADR, RPM and load factor, for example, are four important business performance metrics used in the hospitality and airline industries, respectively. But terminology in dynamic, fast-changing industries can also be confusing and even controversial; key terms can take on multiple meanings, or suffer from manipulation by corporate marketers. One need look no further than "dynamic packaging," one of the hottest buzzwords for nearly a decade. Ask 10 "experts" what dynamic packaging is, and still today you should expect no fewer than 10 different answers. When PhoCusWright undertook research for its recent study of the travel agency distribution channel—PhoCusWright's Travel Agency Distribution Landscape: 2006-2009 —we immediately encountered significant challenges in ...  more