23 July 2008
Pros and Cons Of Using Online Travel Sites
Posted by James Redder under: Travel .
Personally, I have always enjoyed traveling outside of my country but I know many people that have never even left the state they live in and always vacation locally. Wherever it is you want to visit, there will be numerous sources of information online at special travel sites. Many people use the internet now to plan even complex travel plans, never seeing a travel agent. The predominance of websites dedicated to travel says just how popular this method is as every tour operator has their website as well to add to the mix.
Although I am not one to put my complete trust in these sites and still like to visit my travel agent. While this may be the way to book your holiday now, I still enjoy sitting front of a real person and not a computer screen.
With a travel agent, I can change my mind about my plans several times, call and ask questions, and have someone to blame should my vacation not turn out to be what I was hoping for. It is difficult complaining to a travel site and almost impossible to actually speak to a real person, plus with today’s technology it is almost impossible to say where they are in the world.
They may say something just to appease you and it will not hold true in the end. It is this fear of the problems that can occur and if they do happen it is too late that prevents me from being more trusting in the way that I trust my travel agent.
A best friend of mine only books her vacations on travel sites and often she’ll book a last minute vacation that a travel site is offering which is one huge advantage of using a travel site. By browsing online she has made some amazing savings by just waiting until the last possible minute to book the vacation.
I have to say that I envy here but she has an understanding company that is far more flexible than mine which require more notice for a vacation. Using a travel site does have other advantages as well because while you can save money on the vacation itself, there are also savings to be made on additional excursions and trips as well if pre-booked.
Knowing a little about what you want and information about the location you want to travel too can be useful so I still research as much of this as I can online before I pay my travel agent a visit. It may not be fair on my travel agent but at least I know if something goes wrong, I will have someone to complain to on my return.