Though the months of the Covid pandemic have been a hard and hectic time for travel businesses and consumers alike, 2022 has already been the stage of many hopeful predictions and excellent improvements for travel. Specifically, many have predicted and seen an increasing number of consumers recognising why booking with a travel agent is so important during Covid.
Though booking with a travel agent has always provided advantages for travellers through financial protection, expert advice, and the stressful parts of booking off a consumer’s hands, it has been reported that the changes of the pandemic have made more consumers more aware of this.
Whether you prefer to book individually or with a travel professional, knowing the pros and cons of your options is important, and an awareness of this has readily increased as many travellers have found the impact of Covid on travel confusing, concerning, and stressful (you can find out more about the differences between booking independently and booking a package in our article).
“Over the past two decades, advances in technology have made it increasingly easy to book your own flights, hotels, car rental and tours online,” said the Financial Times.
“And then came the pandemic, and a raft of ever-changing travel restrictions, testing requirements and last-minute cancellations. Travel is more complicated than it has been in a generation, and so a helping hand — that of an expert travel agent — is suddenly at a premium once more.”
Because of these changes to how travel works, many travel agents have had more new travellers coming to them to book who have only ever booked independently before. But, during the pandemic, they have decided to seek out expert advice and assistance or felt more urgency for the financial protection that a travel agent provides.
Why Booking with a Travel Agent is More Important Than Ever
In 2021 travel went through many different changes. From changes in UK restrictions to changes in destination restrictions, the pattern of how travel flows, the demand for travel, and more. Though not all these changes necessarily had a positive or negative impact, they were all changes that travel businesses and travellers had to adapt to.
In saying that, over the past couple of years, travel businesses and experts have worked hard to create an adapted version of travel that allows these changes to occur without causing unnecessary stress or causing disruptions to their consumers’ bookings.
With their expertise in the industry, travel businesses have created a flexible environment for travellers to book great holidays without having to worry about the potential for something to go wrong if rules change.
This is why it is so important in 2022 to turn to a great and experienced travel agent to book your holiday. A travel agent is not only an expert that’s passionate about providing you with a great holiday, but they provide excellent financial protection, the best advice for travel, and they take care of all the less exciting bits for you.
Though there are things that all consumers can do on their own to ensure they have the best holiday possible (such as checking the Foreign Travel Advice page for their destination and getting good travel insurance) having a second pair of eyes on these areas as well as the experience and inside knowledge of a travel agent is a huge boost.
Whether it’s finding you a great deal you may not have found yourself, making you aware of travel rules as and when they change, getting you a refund if they do change in a way that impacts your holiday, or simply finding you the perfect package holiday, their help is worth the little extra you’ll pay for it.
Travel agents also provide great financial protection, a vital asset in the less certain travel patterns of recent years. From countries moving to the red list, to destination restrictions changing, or even other reasons to cancel or move a booking, a good travel agent will make these things stress-free and easy to handle (if you want to know more about how to find a good travel agent for you, check out our article).
All travel agents must also be Package Travel Regulations compliant and, where applicable, have an ATOL. These are two of the biggest forms of financial protection you can find in UK travel and will ensure that everything is dealt with fairly, and you can still enjoy your holiday.
Plus, if you book with a travel agent that is a member of Protected Trust Services (PTS) you have the guaranteed protection of the PTS travel trust account. This means that all the money you pay for your holiday will only be used to fund your holiday and profits won’t be released from the trust account until your holiday is paid for.
Booking with a member of PTS means that whatever happens, you can know exactly where your money is and get a refund swiftly and efficiently if necessary. All you have to do is contact your PTS member and they can tell you where your money is, so you don’t have to worry if anything happens or you need to make an alteration to your booking.
So, what are you waiting for? If you’re excited to book your next great holiday, don’t forget to get in touch with a PTS member for 100% financial protection through trust and expert assistance. Or, if you’d like help choosing one of the lovely PTS members to book with, contact PTS directly at 0207 190 9988.
And if you’d like to learn more about your consumer protection with PTS and how the Package Travel Regulations protect your holiday booking, check out our pages and articles.
