16 November 2007 Travel agents 'used for tricky holiday bookings'
Travel agents are more commonly used to book complex or hard-to-organise holidays than online booking systems, according to the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta).
Frances Tuke, spokesperson for Abta, said that despite the rise in numbers of people choosing to book independent elements of their holiday through the internet, face-to-face travel agents are still preferred for certain bookings.
"Particularly when it's not just a point-to-point, when it's an open jaw or when they want to do a couple of different activities, such as a honeymoon that involves both a safari and a beach element to it," Ms Tuke said when asked whether she agreed with the notion that people turn to travel agents when booking complicated trips.
She added that when it comes to the rising number of packages being offered online, they tend to be for short-haul destinations that focus on the family market rather than being specialist holidays.
Recent research by Harris Interactive on behalf of online customer experience management solutions company Tealeaf revealed that nine out of ten shoppers have encountered troubles in the 12 months to September when using the internet to purchase goods.
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