NOT SO USELESS

ASTA\’s senior vice-president, Paul Ruden has called a careercast.com blog — entitled \”When All Else Fails, Consider a Useless Job\” — which includes travel agents along with sign-spinners and clairvoyants in the list; an assertion as insulting as it is inaccurate.
\”Before slapping such a label on an entire industry,\” Ruden stated, \”you might have considered doing basic research on it. Since it appears that you didn\’t, I am taking this opportunity to set the record straight on behalf of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and travel agents everywhere.\”
The senior VP of ASTA goes on to point out that contrary to the myth of the travel agent as a dying breed, perpetuated by the article, those who have adapted to the internet era have not only survived but have thrived.
Travel agents, he notes, have fully embraced new technologies and serve consumers through both specialized professional travel distribution technology, not available to consumers, as well as internet-based tools.
Ruden also pointed out that as of year-end 2012, there were about 8,000 U.S. travel agency firms in business employing 105,000 people. In 143 million transactions, those agencies sold $86 billion worth of air travel (64% of the market).
\”While online agents account for a lot of that business, so-called traditional agents actually sell about half of it, in addition to the vast majority of the $15 billion worth of cruises (64%) and $9 billion in tour packages (66%). Those are big numbers. Travel agents help to move people around the country and around the world, and in the process keep our economy moving. Useless? Not hardly.\”
Go to http://www.asta.org for more.