The British are turning back to face-to-face advice

Jul 28 2006 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

How did you book your holiday this year? I bet you at least looked at the internet, even if you eventually booked through a high street travel agent.

Most of us do it all by computer now. We research and choose countries, flights, places to stay, types of holidays and car hire all without leaving our home.

It's a dramatic shift for high street agents, who have lost out hugely in the trend towards independence. We are also veering away from the package holiday towards long-haul, more adventurous stays abroad.

Short breaks are booming too. Low cost flights from Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley have opened up Europe at prices we can afford, and the ability to find the accommodation that suits us best makes the stay even more attractive.

I heard of a flight to Hong Kong from London for £74 recently. If longer haul flights also enter the rock bottom price race, the world will become even smaller. This extraordinary revolution in holiday choices, prices and booking methods has all taken place in a few short years. Yet even as the internet flexes its muscles as the panacea for all our holiday needs in one dinky computer, the British people are turning back to the comfort of face-to-face advice. One firm now offers "personal holiday advisers", who do all the hard work for you. This is a pilot scheme at the moment, but given the explosion in party, wedding, Christmas and any other event planners, I think it could be a winner.

Travel agents are still managing to hold their own against the internet. Business travel is an area that benefits from skilled expertise, and I know local business travel consultancies that offer a genuinely useful service, saving valuable time and money, and providing a consistently reliable travel package.

Some holidaymakers, concerned about safety threats are also heading back to the high street.

The trained people there give reassuringly up-to-date information and advice.

Travel agents are also popular for people keen to take a tailor-made holiday.

Trying to create our customised holiday heaven through the internet takes many hours, ending in headaches, stiff knees, and a choice often made from exhaustion rather than reason. Whichever method we choose to book our holiday, however, I guarantee that the process of doing so will make a break essential.