Insights

Until recently, travel planning and travel was the privilege of the elite few. The advent of digital age has just about transformed that altogether. With digital technology and mobile, the travel industry has reinvented itself. Internet proliferation across masses began a change that was so unprecedented and massive that even as we speak, the travel industry is being re-invented and its stakeholders are still getting a hang of it.

The 1950s and 60s saw the ‘’birth’’ of the travel agent segment of the travel industry. The airlines could not have asked for a better partner in business as their front end. And for long, the travel agents played an important role to the extent that they soon became ‘’powerful’’ enough to be a threat to the profits of the airlines themselves; a section of the revenues does go as commission to the agents.

In just a couple of decades, the Internet has completely changed the way we travel. In the past, travel planning often meant relying on a travel agent to get all details about destinations, transport, costs, hotel options, sightseeing options etc.

At most, you could get tips from a friend who might have travelled to a particular destination before. The role of the travel agent, however, was not just about facilitating bookings etc., but it was also very much about acting as an expert consultant who would educate and make recommendations.

Because travel is so closely linked to lifestyle trends, it is no surprise that it was one of the first sectors to get digitised with the advent of the Internet. In the early days, the internet was mostly seen as a source of information, while the actual planning and reservations happened offline, mostly through the traditional travel agent booking systems.

In the good old days, planning travel or vacations was a pretty straight-forward process. You went to your local travel agent, looked through all the brochures, decided on a place based on our interest and your budget and that was pretty much it. Recommendations from friends or family who were raving about a certain destination that they recently visited might have had an impact on your choice. Likewise, an interesting article in the local newspaper or a show on TV might have given you ideas on planning your next holiday.