Record number of US travellers booking through travel agents
Millennials and Gen Z are particularly keen on using traditional travel agents’ services
In a recent survey of US adults commissioned by IBS Software, a provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to the travel industry, a record 47 per cent of respondents said they were utilising in-person or online travel agents (OTAs) to book their holiday trips.
This survey found that 38 per cent of Millennials and Gen Z – those born between 1981 and 1996, and 1997 and 2012 respectively – prefer to book with traditional travel agents, despite this group’s digital behaviour.
This contrasts with Generation X and baby boomers – those born between 1965 and 1980, and 1946 and 1964 respectively – of whom only 12 per cent and two per cent use traditional travel agents’ services. Generation X prefer to use OTAs when booking their holiday travel (35 per cent).
This renaissance of the travel agent among the younger generation has contributed to just 22 per cent of respondents booking hotel stays and airline tickets directly through the vendor’s websites.
Steffan Berelowitz, Vice President and Head of the IBS Software Hospitality Business, said: “The most surprising finding from our survey was the fact that younger travellers, Millennials and Gen Z, prefer to book with traditional travel advisors at a higher rate than the older Gen X cohorts.
“We all think of younger travellers as digital natives, wedded to their phones and social media, and yet, counterintuitively, they’re seeking more personal connection.
“There’s an important lesson there for us to question these stereotypes. We plan to invest a great deal more in understanding the needs of this future generation of travellers.”