2001: Travel Agents
Travel figures suggest the 9/11 tragedy was a pivotal point in how people travel, according to The Guardian. Airlines realized they could move online, using websites to update flyers, while online booking sites took over to replace the travelers’ need to pay an agent.
Within the next decade, the number of brick-and-mortar travel agencies dropped drastically, decreasing by 60% in 2015 since the early 1990s as people moved to social media and other apps like Airbnb, Priceline, and Booking.com.
The travel industry shifted again with the creation of Facebook, which introduced a new age of sharing, which later included Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, effectively reducing the number of in-person travel agents, and forcing travel companies to move online.
A new 2023 report by Statista found that an overwhelming 72% of people prefer to book online, a significant contrast to just 12% who utilize travel agencies to book their trips. The report says 53% of those booking online travel cited the speed and convenience of personally tailoring their schedules as the reason for using online sites, while 47% said it’s easier to compare prices and find the best deal.
