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ToursOnTheWeb

Travel fairs and Travel Agents have been around for many generations. Are they still relevant in time of Internet and World Wide Web?

SINGAPORE, August 21, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — The COVID-19 pandemic is a story of the past. For some time now people can meet in person without keeping distance or wearing a face mask. Social Gatherings, Conferences, Expositions and Fairs all resumed.

Travel fairs have been around for generations. Travellers can talk to travel agents in-person and obtain detailed information about travel destinations, tours and cruises, get specials, collect flyers and possibly receive a gift or discount when making a booking at the fair.

Travel fairs are with the most important days in the travel calendar of local tour operators and large travel agents, where many tours can be sold and a lot of revenue can be made. The brand is featured and marketed in full force to show presence and strength, especially after COVID-19 where several travel organisations did not survive the storm.

Travel fairs feature a variety of multi-day tours organised mainly by local tour operators for outbound tour groups and – with a bit of luck – a few major, international tour / cruise operators and tourism boards who promote their own products, services and destinations.

This absolutely seems like a win-win. Certainly if the fair location and venue are nearby and easily reachable, this works just fine: the 3-day Singapore NATAS fair in August 2023 attracted more than 100,000 visitors, with a large part being seniors over 60 years of age looking for group tours and ideas.

Nowadays there are far more options to find a multi-day tour via the World Wide Web. Everyone is familiar with booking a flight, hotel, rental car or day-activity online, either through an online travel agent, at the operator / organiser website or via an app. But for tour bookings the web still seems awkward?

A few serious international online travel agents and comparison platforms exist for organised group tours, private tours, walking/bicycling tours, safaris and cruises. They feature many thousands of English speaking tours mainly by international tour operators.

Tours are different from other travel products, because of the complexity. They may include international flights, land/sea/air-transportation from A to B to C, 3-4-5 star accommodation, activities and a tour guide. Everything needs to be arranged for groups of 10-20-40 or more people in advance. Cost is based on a specific number of participants and can be significant. Tour operators therefore have specific Terms and Conditions for itinerary changes, minimum group size, rescheduling, cancellations and refunds.

Traditional and Online travel agents accept bookings on behalf of the tour operators and must agree upon the operator’s Terms and Conditions as well as follow national guide lines. To protect themselves they will add even more Terms and Conditions to a booking, for example in regards of price changes, down-payment and insurance.

Far-away foreign online travel agents may work well for regular English-speaking group tours, but not really for more complex outbound tours with long-haul flight, or private tours with lots of customisations or more expensive luxury tours.

To secure bookings, protect payments and avoid complicated, costly rescheduling or cancelling of a tour with too many Terms and Conditions, travellers may prefer to book directly at the tour operator, especially if this is a familiar, trusted brand that is member of a known booking guarantee fund.

Large search and comparison platforms have a clear advantage here. They do not accept bookings but create referrals for the tour operators. The traveller will always communicate directly with the tour operator for customer support and booking and only the Terms and Conditions of that operator apply, making changes a whole lot simpler. It is the best of both worlds.

ToursOnTheWeb.com is the largest travel comparison platform for all types of organised multi-day group tours, private tours, active tours and adventures, (river) cruises and luxury expeditions, by verified international AND local tour operators, not only in English. Tours can begin at home (with flight) or at the destination and exist for all age groups, comfort categories, durations and budgets. Travellers can choose to travel with fellow countrymen/women, or in an international group, or in a private group. This is truly unique on the web.

No travel fair or traditional travel agent can offer this. Travellers, who speak English as a 1st or 2nd language, now have much more choice of itineraries, travel dates, destinations and options and this 24×7, 365 days per year. It is like having an extended travel fair year-round.

Is there still a need for travel fairs or travel agents? It is certainly nice to get into the travel mood without being online. Talking to a friendly, knowledgeable representative can be very inspirational for the best time of the year (vacation). It is probably no coincidence that travellers of 60+, who in general are less savvy on the Web or prefer a local travel group, were very well represented at the NATAS fair. But the widest choice and variety of tours, cruises and destinations is available only online.

Paul Van Schaik
ToursOnTheWeb Pte Ltd
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