What's the Difference Between a Travel Agent and a Travel Advisor?

In today’s world of travel, you’ll want to make the right choices in the destination for your family vacation, honeymoon, or dream trip. Yes, you can you try to book everything on your own; however, you’ll miss the many benefits of having a travel advisor on your side. Long gone are the days when you would go into a travel agency and plan your trip with a simple travel agent. Today’s travel connoisseur has a personal relationship with a travel advisor who knows his client’s tastes and preferences and uses his first-hand knowledge and extensive industry connections to custom design, strategize, and execute the details of any travel plans.

To inexperienced travelers, the differences between a travel agent and advisor may seem minute and vague. However, the expectations, experiences, knowledge, resources, and connections between the two make all the difference. If you want to purchase tickets quickly online without best planning and service, then self-booking systems and direct purchases with a travel agent or ticket desk are the way for you. On other hand, if you desire quality, best availability, premium choices, expert knowledge, best-in-the-industry rates, personal care, and concierge service, then working with a professional advisor would be your gold standard of travel. You simply can’t get where you want to go in the best possible way without working with an advisor by your side.

ADVISORS CUSTOMIZE TRAVEL JUST FOR YOU

Have you wandered through the travel section of your local bookstore and escaped to exotic destinations through the covers of the travel guides sitting on the shelf? Perhaps you’ve spent a Saturday daydreaming of romantic locations as you scrolled through breathtaking photos on Instagram or Pinterest. Before too long, the travel urge sets in, and suddenly you can see yourself sitting in a café in Italy or scuba diving in the Maldives.

Without hesitation, your daydreaming quickly becomes a goal. This is the time you must make a choice: Do you want to work with a travel agent or a travel advisor? As you ponder the route ahead, questions like these may help you determine which choice is best suited for you: Do I want to travel inside or outside of the box? Do I want to work with someone who has a passion for travel and appreciates travel couture, or do I want to work with someone who just looks at me as a number and not as an individual? If you prefer value and service to help make your dream trip a reality, then working with a travel advisor is your ticket.

My experience as a travel advisor did not come overnight. In fact, it’s an ever-evolving task. The main difference I want to offer my clientele is a travel experience and not simply a trip or vacation. With a 25-year tenure in the travel industry, I have been establishing global connections that enhances my clients’ travel experience. I have a motto of “It’s the little things that matter.” Understanding that clients want an experience and not simply a trip helps me execute the little details with attentive care and excellence. The more I know about the complexities of a trip, the more I can customize it to the individual preferences of my clientele.

ADVISORS SUPPORT YOU DURING YOUR TRIP

With the innovative technology we have today, you will never be any farther away than a phone call or text while on your trip. One of the main things a client desires is the personal connection with me while on their trip. In the event things go awry, my clients can confidently contact me or our after-hours service to help navigate them through any disruptions or inconveniences they may experience during their travels. It is this personal connection and support that clients value over and over again.

ADVISORS DESIGN TRAVEL FOR YOU

To an extent, both travel agents and advisors perform the same functions; however, it’s the overall delivery of the travel product to clients that makes the difference. Because travel agents provide a service of selling travel, their relationship with clients ends the moment the sale is finished. After the transaction is complete, a client is not much more than a number or a name in their system.

By contrast, travel advisors are travel designers who focus the trip on their clients. To them, the client isn’t a name or a number, but rather a person with distinct tastes, needs, budgets, and dreams. Because travel advisors continue educating themselves on the hottest destination trends, keep up with current travel best practices, remain personally connected with vendors, hoteliers, and other travel industry professionals, they are always a well of fresh knowledge and experience. In fact, most highly sought-after advisors spend much of the year traveling themselves, doing on-the-ground research to bring home to their clients.

As a result of their wide range of resources and personal experience, travel advisors will suggest the newest and best destinations to fit your wanderlust. This is a contribution to your travel planning that a simple travel agent cannot give you. With firsthand knowledge of products and vendor connections globally, it is the travel advisor who can easily customize a trip and service you with excellence.

ADVISORS SERVICE THE LUXURY MARKET

Finally, one key difference that distinguishes a travel advisor from a travel agent is the luxury travel market. Not all travel agents desire to work with a luxury clientele, and they feel their greatest need is in the security of a traditional brick and mortar office. In contrast, travel advisors focus on a niche clientele of luxury clients that fit their portfolio. These clients value an advisor who is knowledgeable of the destination, understands the value of the client/advisor relationship, and can give the client the experience he or she desires.

So, when wanderlust sets in, the question to ask yourself is this: Do I want to simply go on a trip, or do a I want a travel experience that only a travel advisor can provide with knowledge, connections, and firsthand experience? If you desire a luxury travel experience with customized design service, then contact my office today to reserve your place in our portfolio. I would love to assist you in designing the travel of a lifetime.

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