Virtual Travel Group announces big goals in 2015

BOSTON - Nov. 22, 2014 - PRLog -- It has been suggested that the travel industry is about to see some changes, for the better.  According to Virtual Travel Group co-founder Charles Fields, “Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen some dramatic changes in the travel industry.  When large online travel companies like Expedia and Priceline emerged it changed the way people booked travel nearly overnight.  This forced tens of thousands of travel agents to leave the industry due to competitive disadvantages in the areas of pricing and booking convenience.”

Recent demographic studies back up Mr. Fields’ assessment.   According to the US Department of Labor and Bureau Statistics, in the U.S. alone travel agencies account for 75,000 fewer jobs today than they did in 1999.  All of this while the industry as a whole is on the rise.  The Global Travel industry reported over $8 trillion dollars in annual revenue last year and many experts are predicting a continual rise over the next decade or more.

The growth of the industry is attracting a lot of business professionals, but many of them are struggling to find opportunities, which is rare in any growth industry.  Some people believe there is opportunity behind this rare combination of decreased jobs despite industry strength.  “I believe we are in the beginning stages of another strong transition in the industry.  The internet was responsible for a decrease in travel agent jobs over the past 20 years.  Ironically it will be the internet that triggers a return of the travel agent opportunity, but it will be an evolved travel agent equipped with more tools, resources and leverage which will allow them to compete once again.  The next 5 to 10 years will produce some major opportunities for people that want to position themselves in the industry at the front end of this transition,” said Mr. Fields.

This transition that Mr. Fields is referring to is the existence of a new travel agency model.  The traditional, local travel agency model is making way to a newer model, based on larger Travel Agent “Networks” that are capable of building pricing leverage through organizational size.  These networks are also able to cut marginal costs, one of the biggest advantages online retailers have had for years.  Additionally, the “new age” travel agent is equipped with tools such as online booking engines for convenience, social media training, as well as online certification and professional development tools.

“Virtual Travel Group has worked hard to position itself with solid alliances in the industry so that we can build a thriving business with the primary objective of delivering dynamic career opportunities to people who are once again excited about calling this fun and exciting industry their home.  Our group has a goal of bringing more agents into the industry than anyone else in 2015 and our recent results are very promising.”  Time will tell, but the signs are there.  We could be seeing a “return of the travel agent” coming to a social media site near you!