No one could question that tourism is a mass phenomenon, born incipiently at the end of the 19th century for the wealthier classes, which became democratised in the 20th century as a way of consolidating capitalism and the strength of its middle class, and which will increase exponentially in the 21st century for all social classes. It is already a new way of understanding life, more humanist, where travelling is almost within the reach of anyone, and where after what we have learned in the crisis of the coronavirus, it will make us treasure and savour a very precious good these days, to move freely around the world, "embracing" human beings, a fact that on the other hand we could understand as a return to the values of what is important, "being and being", rather than "having and accumulating".
TOURISM: A STRATEGIC INDUSTRY FOR SPAIN
Today, tourism accounts for 10% of GDP worldwide, and between 10% and 15% of global employment both directly and indirectly, generating wealth in many areas of the world that would otherwise be condemned to poverty, although in other areas, if not remedied, it endangers the coexistence of local communities with tourists through tourism-phobia and, with the emergence of tourist housing, prevents access to affordable urban housing for a large part of the population. But for that we need our governments to get down to work and, in a coordinated and not individualised manner, to put a stop to illegal practices, leaving tourism itself to regulate its own coordinates in a free market.
An industry that is very sensitive to geopolitical events, and as we are seeing these days completely affected by the coronavirus crisis, a sector that does not know about borders but about globalisation, and where if the borders return beyond the temporary, it will see its house of cards endangered and with it, it will cease to distribute wealth wherever it is installed.
For us at BRAINTRUST tourism is strategic for the wealth of our country and for the quality of life of its inhabitants, an industry that we have been supporting for 15 years with the objective of its transformation and adaptation to this new XXI century, its companies (our clients) require other plans and other practices aligned with the requirements of a new traveller, more informed and hyperconnected, and now in need of different strategies for the return to activity after the collapse by the COVID 19.
THE INCREASE OF ACTORS DURING THE TOURISM BOOM
In this sector, little by little and due to different circumstances, the use of traditional travel agencies has been declining, some will label it "technology", others will label it "young people", the most daring will label it "I want everything here and now" and the most pessimistic will label it "people don't trust anyone anymore".
For one reason or another, and for whatever label we give it in Spain, the reality is that only 1 in 5 travellers use traditional travel agencies to book their holidays, according to the BRAINTRUST Tourism Barometer, or in other words only 22% of all travellers. The 21st century has seen the birth of other players in intermediation, phenomena such as OTAs, which, together with the interest of end suppliers to have control of the client, has relegated them to last place.
THE ADVANTAGES OF USING TRAVEL AGENCIES
Going back to our BRAINTRUST Barometer, security, reliability and guarantee emerged as the most valuable attributes for people using travel agencies with 34%, ahead of convenience with 25%, advice with 17% or treatment and proximity with 16%; you don't need to be very wise to imagine that these percentages will change drastically after this crisis.
Travel will continue to be a necessity beyond the material, and will begin to be a wealth of being, travel is sure to become the most precious treasure for any human being - assuming the implementation of the health measures that governments and health institutions will dictate throughout this crisis - even if it will take a few months for these measures to be fully implemented in the travel industry until the arrival of the long-awaited vaccine.
The episode of the closure of European airspace in 2010 following the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull is a long time ago, when many travellers were lost in different cities far from their place of origin, and only the staff of travel agencies "moved Rome with Santiago", to return these travellers to their homes.
The air traffic controllers' strike of 2010 is also a long time ago, when Spanish travellers felt abandoned to their fate, and only those who had contracted their trip with a travel agency were able to survive that chaotic long weekend in December.
Although our memory as human beings is selective, once again we are seeing Spanish (and non-Spanish) travellers stranded around the world, and only those who have contracted with a travel agency are being assisted, while other travellers who have directly contracted their trips on their own are being referred to saturated telephone numbers or redirected to a website where nobody answers, or where it takes days, weeks and months to offer a valid solution.
THE ROLE OF THE TRAVEL AGENT WILL BECOME MUCH MORE VALUABLE.
We at BRAINTRUST predict that these travel agency usage figures will change again after this coronavirus crisis - a global health emergency and an economic and social crisis - where our confinement has allowed us to reflect on what is important, on living together and taking care of our own, ultimately looking after the safety of others at our own sacrifice, something that previous generations knew very well, but that the new generations had not yet been able to experience first hand.
Therefore, if security has become a bulwark in our lives as never before and has become a precious asset to be achieved and a rising value in our society, it is time for travel agencies to value each and every one of the attributes that make them a different, unique and safe channel, and where travel agents put their experience, knowledge, advice and assistance at the customer's service throughout each and every one of our travel journeys, in short, the reliability of being in the hands of expert technicians who know, and not putting us in the hands of our own intuition or our inexperience.
Can anyone now imagine trying to find, as a traveller, the social distancing available at each tourist destination or means of transport?
I therefore advocate a return to the use of traditional travel agencies (while guaranteeing access to online and offline channels), which are once again proving their invaluable role in this unprecedented and unexplored crisis of Covid 19.
This trend of use will not be restricted to older people but to the new generations, who will now be able to see the usefulness of them.
Agencies have evolved considerably in recent years and now have tools for geolocation, repatriation, claims management, and always with a 24-hour multi-channel customer service, which allow travellers to travel the world in a safer way. Although from the outside, and especially the younger ones, they may see them as an obsolete and dispensable business, they have put the best technology at the service of the most prepared people and are in a position to offer the best service at the best price.
Agencies are now in the midst of survival, but after this crisis they will be more necessary than ever.
To achieve this goal of greater use by travellers after this crisis, I invite travel agencies to transform their static advertising oriented to destinations and price, to focus on the experience from beginning to end of the trip, because the route from home to the destination and vice versa has become a "gymkhana" where only with the help of an agent 24/7/365 we are safe to enjoy our holidays to the fullest.
Agencies must seize this UNIQUE opportunity where we as a society are reflecting on the way we do things.
At BRAINTRUST we have been helping travel agencies, who have been our clients for some time now, to achieve a brand positioning based on value rather than price.
A travel agent will be our safeguard when we travel the world, because now we can't, but after this period, we will do it again.
Any destination can be taken by anyone, and doing so safely is only in the hands of a travel agent.
