In this sector, agents have a chance to spread their wings and sell creatively. Whereas flights can

Online travel agents have a tough job ahead. As competition increases from rival OTAs, as well as from the mega price comparison websites and from direct cheap airline tickets student discount bookings, those selling cheap airline tickets student discount travel online must stay one step ahead.
It has long been known that relying on flight sales alone will not guarantee decent returns. As airlines struggle to maintain margins, agent commissions have been steadily slashed cheap airline tickets student discount and airlines have become increasingly focused on generating direct bookings via their own websites.
Clearly, agents and OTAs need to be selling more than just flights. This need to diversify was highlighted in a 2010 study by Hermes Management Consulting which found that – in Scandinavia, France, Germany and the Netherlands – non-air travel products accounted cheap airline tickets student discount for only 14% of OTA's total bookings .
This imbalance seems misguided when 99.8% of Europe's 1.8 million tourism enterprises are small or medium enterprises (SMEs), made up of an assortment of offers and services. There is an ocean of untapped resource waiting for the agents who can connect with it.
With dwindling returns from air travel, accommodation is the biggest market in which agents can succeed. In Europe, 23% of the tourism industry works in hospitality and the range of products is vast. Key here will be an agent's ability to tap into the diverse types of accommodations on offer, finding products to suit every need. While larger chains and 5-star resorts may be thriving in the online marketplace, cheap airline tickets student discount the sector cheap airline tickets student discount is actually inaccurately represented as, in reality, cheap airline tickets student discount 83% of EU hospitality industry is made up of micro-enterprises.
It is these small, unique businesses which remain under-exposed and which should be a vital part of an agents' portfolio. In Croatia , the vast majority of the sector is made up of private accommodations, with hotels only accounting for a small proportion.
In this sector, agents have a chance to spread their wings and sell creatively. Whereas flights can only be compared on price and destination, in the case of accommodations, quality, reviews, features of room and star ratings are all important. And it is up to the agent to find a way to convey this information.
New technology aims to meet this need. Within the last month, Amadeus has launched Cruise Shopper , a software cheap airline tickets student discount solution for travel companies to offer customised cruise deals and manage their sales process . Similarly, Intrepid Vacations cheap airline tickets student discount has created a travel agent portal that provides information and allows the booking of a range of independent and group tours .
What is needed is a means for agents to access cheap airline tickets student discount information cheap airline tickets student discount and make reservations on a much wider range of products. If travel agents and OTAs are to compete with direct bookings and powerful price comparison sites, they must do so by offering serious choice. Europe's fragmented travel industry is made up of small, unique enterprises and it is these which agents should target.
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