Tourism

My mother and I have always booked our own trips through online discount sites like Expedia, etc. When we do go to travel agents inquiring about trips, they usually don’t get back to us with any information! If it makes a difference, we usually inquire about going to places like Asia, Europe, etc.

My question is this– With so many people using online sites, like Travelocity, Orbitz, etc., what is the future for the individual travel agent? How do they/will they make their money and attract their clients? Will they only work for wealthy folks who will pay for the convenience of having an agent to do the legwork? What will be the future for people wanting to enter this line of work?

Thank you for any answers.

Wealthy people are not the only ones who need travel agents.
Unlucky people need them too.
When I traveled to Thailand I found a great deal online, Chicago to New York, then New York onto the rest of my trip, the trouble was I would be entering New York on one airport and leaving on another. I had mistakenly thought there was enough time to travel from one to another but not.
I had not booked online, I had written down all the flight info and called a travel agent to see if they could get a similar deal.
With my legwork they were able to do a little more legwork and find a different connecting flight.
But, If I had not called them, I would have bought the ticket.
Well actually, If I was able to find a cab right away, traffic was not bad, and if I knew my way around both airports well, there would have been enough time.
New York city, not having bad traffic (what are the odds of that), and I have never been in either airport before.

So now I frequently go online, find as much information as I can, writing it all down, then call a trusty agent to buy my ticket.
I do not know why, but the agent told me they can not go to travelocity or other such sites to find tickets!
I am not lucky, and I know it, so I use all the resources available to me when ever I can.

Yes, I know this was not very nice for travelocity, but if I have problems with a flight during the trip they are no help either.

After you book your flight, call the next day to be sure the aisle seat you were sure to book, is what you have, or you could be spending 17 hours of fly time with a cramped up window seat.
When your 6′3" that’s a problem!