Digital Generation: Compete With Big Online Booking Agents

Traditional Travel Agencies in Digital Generation
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Traditional Travel Agencies in Digital Generation
Introduction
The recent technological advancements have been associated with the current transformation that is being experienced in the Tours and Travels industry globally. For instance, recent studies in the industry have suggested that the position of the Traditional Travel Agents is slowly diminishing with the rise of the Online Travel Agents (Zare & Chukwunoso, 2015). This existence is said to have been caused by effects of the information revolution, which has in turn established channels through which customers communicates directly to their service providers without the aid of intermediary agents. However, some experts in this industry have raised concerns on how traditional travel agents can maintain their position in the industry regardless of the technological transformation that has reshaped how business transaction between clients and service providers are currently conducted. This paper shall, therefore, highlight on some transformation that traditional travel agents need to undertake to help salvage their relevancy in the tours and travels industry.
Problem Statement
The number of Traditional Travel Agency is diminishing at the expense of Online Travel Agencies.
Thesis Statement
Digital transformation in Tours and Travel Industry is driving Traditional Travel Agents out of business.
Stance and Justification
Several studies have confirmed that indeed the number of Traditional Travel Agents has experienced a downfall in the recent years. One of such studies includes the one conducted by CNN whose report in 2013 indicated that the number of travel agencies in the US did fall from 34,000 in the mid-1990s to 13,000 in 2013 (Olenski, 2015). On the other hand, a study conducted by Google in 2014 also indicated that approximately one-third and half of leisure and business travelers respectively chose the OTA due to the efficiencies in the site tools and options provided (Baghdadi, 2016). The 2014 Google study also did confirm indicate that the best travel deals offered on OTA platforms were the primary reason that lured close to 75 percent of the leisure travelers to prefer OTA to Traditional Travel Agency (TTA). These reports are therefore clear indications that the technological transformations in the Tours and Travel industry have hindered the relevancy of TTAs.
Solutions to Traditional Tour Agencies’ Miseries
Solutions to the TTAs miseries lie in their ability to transform how they conduct their services. One of the studies has shown that the traditional travel agents seem to have a vast experience on about the consumer needs compared to online agencies (Buhalis & Licata, 2002). This fact, therefore, gives them an advantage over the OTAs. However, to exploit this opportunity, they need to establish their online platforms through which they can continue with their intermediary services of connecting travelers to the travel firm...