By Victoria Sanders, managing director of Teletext Holidays
Earlier this week I was asked to give a keynote speech at an event celebrating women’s achievements in business. I talked about some of the lessons I’ve learnt on the path to my current role.
It made me think about the huge changes that have happened in our industry during my time in travel, from setting off with a round-the-world ticket after graduation to navigating corporate politics and getting to grips with the digital world.
In recent years at Teletext Holidays my focus has been firmly on mainstream package holidays and charter flights. But my very first job in travel was for Singapore Airlines handling reservations before moving on to Air New Zealand as key account manager.
Back in those days, agents were all important. I travelled up and down handing out incentives and delivering training sessions. Agents were the lifeblood for an airline and I was left in no doubt about how hard they worked.
But back in the present for a moment. Last week Kayak was bought for a whopping $1.8 billion by online travel giant Priceline. That deal alone goes to show that buying a flight has changed so much since my days of handing out goodies for agents.
Apparently 96% of UK consumers book their air travel online. Of those people, 65% go to the airlines’ websites, while 31% booked via an online agency.
As I said to the audience of female business executives, there is no scientific formula for career success. But if there’s one tip I’d give to anyone wanting to succeed, it would be to get to grips with the rapidly-evolving online world and understand what it can do for your business. Don’t fear it, be excited by it.
For flight bookings, mobile is certainly ramping things up. Just look at Skyscanner. Its free mobile app, which lets users find cheap flights on the go, has hit 10 million downloads.
Although agents have lost ground over the years in straightforward flight bookings, I still see a clear role for their skills in our increasingly global world.
The technological juggernaut will continue, but it is reassuring that some things do not change. Simple pleasures like swimming in the ocean with the sun on your face, seeing an elephant in the wild for the first time or lunch on a snowy mountain top surrounded by friends. This is what travel agents are all about.
Since setting off with my backpack I have never lost my love for travelling. Whale watching, zip-lining in the rainforest, skydiving and sailing into Sydney harbour – while the flight is long forgotten, these memories remain.
Agents don’t just book people from A to B anymore, they take them from A to every unforgettable experience under the sun.