A recent poll has shown that travel agents need to expand their websites to include more independent content if they wish to compete with internet retailers.
15,000 people were questioned in the survey, which was conducted by the British Travel Awards. All those surveyed said that they use the internet for at least one element when booking a holiday, for example researching the destination or doing a price comparison check.
Three quarters of respondents said that they view consumer feedback on the internet, including information on social networking sites.
Lorraine Barnes Burton, chief executive at BTA, explained: “Price is an important factor but it is the extra information and knowledge about their holiday choice that is encouraging the consumer to make their final decision and feel confident that their holiday budget is money well spent."
"In order to compete with internet retailers, agents need to expand their own websites to include independent content that will satisfy their customers with constructive reviews."
"They need to embrace the internet – writing blogs and interacting fully with FaceBook, Twitter, and other sites – keeping them up to date to hopefully attract business."
