Travel Weekly Blog

A new survey 'shows distrust of travel agents', reports Travelmole, but a deeper reading provokes some suspicion.

...over 25% of consumers who booked a holiday through a travel agent felt their trip didn't accurately reflect the description in the brochure

The creators of the survey go on to talk about review sites, saying

Now holidaymakers ... can read honest, unbiased opinions from travellers who've recently visited the hotel

Which is all true, but how specific is it to agents? I'm not about slavishly defending Travel Weekly's readership, but try asking the same question of holidaymakers who booked direct.

So while I don't dispute the 25% figure, and don't suggest that agents shouldn't take it on board, there is no meaningful comparison with other channels here.

Indeed, the issue seems to be with product description versus reality, and that affects all of consumer marketing, from direct-sell operators' websites to Big Mac adverts.